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CAFN ERl 

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CAP’N ERI 

A Story of the Coast 


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BY 

JOSEPH C. LINCOLN 

Author of “ Partners of the Tide ’’ 



ILLUSTRATED BY 

CHARLOTTE WEBER 


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NEW YORK 

THE A. S. BARNES COMPANY 
1912 


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Copyright, 1904 
By A, S. BARNES & CO 
All rights reserved 

First Printing, February, 1904 
Second Printing, March, 1904 
Third Printing, March, 1904 
Fourth Printing, April, 1904 
Fifth Printing, August, 1904 
Sixth Printing, December, 1S04 
Seventh Printing, August, 1905 
Eighth Printing, January, 1906 
Ninth Printing, August, 1906 
Tenth Printing, November, 1906 
Eleventh Printing, October, 1909 
Twelfth Printing, February, 1912 




dedicated 
'is the memory 
my Mother 


0 







CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PA6B 

1 . A Lamb for the Sacrifice . . . t 

11 . The Train Comes In . • • • i6 

III. The “ CoME-OuTERs^ Meeting . . 35 

IV. A Picture Sent and a Cable Tested . 53 

V. The Woman from Nantucket . • 7a 

VI. The Schoolhouse Bell Rings • . 94 

VII. Captain Eri Finds a Nurse • • .111 

VIII. Housekeeper and Book Agent • ,128 

IX. Elsie Preston . . . . • *150 

X. Matchmaking and Life-Saving . . i68 

XI. Heroes and a Mystery . . . ,186 

XIL A TLE Politics 209 

XIII. Captain Jerry Makes a Mess of It . 232 

XIV. The Voyage of an ‘'Able Seaman” . 246 

XV. In John Baxter^s Room . . *257 

XVI. A Business Call • • • • • 277 

vu 


CONTENTS 


viii 


''HAPTER 


PAGE 

XVII. 

Through Fire and Water . 

• • 295 

XVIII. 

The Sins of Captain Jerry 

. . 321 

XIX. 

A “ No'theaster ” Blows 

. . 34fi 

XX. 

Eri Goes Back on a Friend 

3SJ? 

KXI. 

“ Dime-Show Business ” • 

. . 076 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Cap’n Eri 

. Frontispiece 

The Three Captains 

Facing page 

14 

The Captain Saw John Baxter 

Lying Face Downward 

a 

no 

Do You Think You Could Con- 
sider THE Question?” 


391 





1 ' 



I 

f 


CAP’N ERI 



CAP’N ERI 



LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 

EREZ,” observed Captain Erl cheer- 
fully, “ I’m tryin’ to average up with 
the mistakes of Providence.” 

The Captain was seated by the open door of the 
dining room, in the rocker with the patched cane 
seat. He was apparently very busy doing some- 
thing with a piece of fishline and a pair of long- 
legged rubber boots. Captain Perez, swinging 
back and forth in the parlor rocker with the patch- 
work cushion, was puffing deliberately at a wooden 
pipe, the bowl of which was carved into the like- 


2 


CAFN ERI 


ness of a very rakish damsel with a sailor’s cap 
set upon the side of her once flaxen head. In 
response to his companion’s remark he lazily turned 
his sunburned face toward the cane-seated rocker 
and inquired: 

“ What on airth are you doin’ with them boots? ” 

Captain Eri tied a knot with his fingers and teeth 
and then held the boots out at arm’s length. 

“ Why, Perez,” he said, “ I’m averagin’ up, same 
as I told you. Providence made me a two-legged 
critter, and a two-legged critter needs two boots. I’ve 
always been able to find one of these boots right off 
whenever I wanted it, but it’s took me so plaguey 
long to find the other one that whatever wet there 
was dried up afore I got out of the house. Yester- 
day when I wanted to go clammin’ I found the left 
one on the mantelpiece, no trouble at all, but it was 
pretty nigh high water before I dug the other one 
out of the washb’iler. That’s why I’m splicin’ ’em 
together this way. I don’t want to promise nothin’ 
rash, but I’m in hopes that even Jerry can’t lose ’em 
now.” 

“Humph!” grunted Captain Perez. “I don’t 
think much of that plan. ’Stead of losin’ one you’ll 
lose both of ’em.” 

“ Yes, but then I shan’t care. If there ain’t no 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 


3 


boots in sight, I’ll go barefoot or stay at home. It’s 
the kind of responsibleness that goes with havin’ one 
boot that’s wearin’ me out. Where is Jerry? ” 

“ He went out to feed Lorenzo. I heard him 
callin’ a minute ago. That cat ain’t been home sence 
noon, and Jerry’s worried.” 

A stentorian shout of “ Puss ! puss ! Come, kitty, 
kitty, kitty ! ” came from somewhere outside. Cap- 
tain Eri smiled. 

“ I’m ’fraid Lorenzo’s gittin’ dissipated in his old 
age,” he observed. Then, as a fat gray cat shot past 
the door, “ There he is ! Reg’lar prodigal son. 
Comes home when the fatted ca’f’s ready.” 

A moment later Captain Jerry appeared, milk 
pitcher in hand. He entered the dining room and, 
putting the pitcher down on the table, pulled forward 
the armchair with the painted sunset on the back, pro- 
duced his own pipe, and proceeded to hunt through 
one pocket after the other with a troubled expression 
of countenance. 

“Where in tunket is my terbacker?” he asked, 
after finishing the round of pockets and preparing to 
begin all over again. 

“ I see it on the top of the clock a spell ago,” said 
Captain Perez. 

“ Was that yours, Jerry? ” exclaimed Captain Eri. 


4 


CAFN ERI 


“ Well, that’s too bad ! I see it there and thought 
’twas mine. Here ’tis, or what’s left of it.” 

Captain Jerry took the remnant of a plug from his 
friend and said in an aggrieved tone: 

“ That’s jest like you, Eri ! Never have a place 
for nothin’ and help yourself to anything you happen 
to want, don’t make no odds whose ’tis. Why don’t 
you take caro of your terbacker, same’s I do of 
mine? ” 

“ Now see here, Jerry ! I ain’t so sure that is 
yours. Let me see it. Humph ! I thought so ! This 
is ‘ Navy Plug ’ and you always smoke ‘ Sailor’s 
Sweetheart.’ Talk about havin’ a place for things! ” 

“ That’s my terbacker, if you want to know,” ob- 
served Captain Perez. “ Pve got yours, Eri. Here 
’tis.” 

“ Well, then, where is mine? ” said Captain Jerry 
somewhat snappishly. 

“ Bet a dollar you’ve got it in your pocket,” said 
Captain Eri. 

“ Bet ten dollars I ain’t! I ain’t quite a fool yit, 
Eri Hedge. I guess I know — well, I snum! I 
forgot that ’dipper vest pocket! ” and from the pocket 
mentioned Captain Jerry produced the missing 
tobacco. 

There was a general laugh, in which Captain Jerry 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 


5 


was obliged to join, and the trio smoked in silence 
for a time, while the expanse of water to the east- 
ward darkened, and the outer beach became but a 
dusky streak separating the ocean from the inner bay. 
At length Captain Perez rose and, knocking the 
ashes from his pipe, announced that he was going 
to “ show a glim.” 

“ Yes, go ahead, Jerry ! ” said Captain Eri, “ it’s 
gittin’ dark.” 

“ It’s darker in the grave,” observed Captain 
Perez with lugubrious philosophy. 

“ Then for the land’s sake let’s have it light 
while we can ! Here, Jerry ! them matches is burnt 
ones. Try this, ’twon’t be so damagin’ to the 
morals.” 

Captain Jerry took the proffered match and lit 
the two bracket lamps, fastened to the walls of the 
dining room. The room, seen by the lamplight, was 
shiplike, but as decidedly not shipshape. The chro- 
nometer on the mantel was obscured by a thick layer 
of dust. The three gorgeous oil paintings — from 
the brush of the local sign painter — respectively 
representing the coasting packet Ham, h M., Eri 
Hedge, Master, and the fishing schooners, Qeorgie 
Baker, Jeremiah Burgess, Master, and the Flying 
Duck, Perez Ryder, Master, were shrouded in a very 


6 


CAFN ERI 


realistic fog of the same dust. Even the imposing 
gilt-lettered set of “ Lives of Great Naval Com- 
manders,” purchased by Captain Perez some months 
before, and being slowly paid for on an apparently 
never-ending installment plan, was cloaked with it. 
The heap of newspapers, shoved under the couch to 
get them out of the way, peeped forth in a tell-tale 
manner. The windows were not too clean and the 
floor needed sweeping. Incidentally the supper table 
had not been cleared. Each one of the three noted 
these things and each sighed. Then Captain Erl 
said, as if to change the subject, though no one had 
spoken : 

“ What started you talkin’ about the grave, 
Perez? Was it them clam fritters of Jerry’s? ” 

“ No,” answered the ex-skipper of the Flying 
Duck, pulling at his grizzled scrap of throat whisker 
and looking rather shamefaced. “ You see, M’lissy 
Busteed dropped in a few minutes this mornin’ while 
you fellers was out and ” 

Both Captain Eri and Captain Jerry set up a hilarh 
ous shout. 

“ Haw ! haw ! ” roared the former, slapping his 
knee. “ I wouldn’t be so fascinatin’ as you be for 
no money, Perez. She’ll have you yit; you can’t git 
away! But say, I don’t wonder you got to thinkin’ 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 


7 


’bout the grave. Ten minutes of M’lissy gits me 
thinkin’ of things way t’other side of that! ” 

“ Aw, belay there, Eri I ” protested Captain Perez 
testily. “ ’Twan’t my fault. I didn’t see her cornin’ 
or I’d have got out of sight. She was cruisin’ ’round 
the way she always does with a cargo of gabble, and 
she put in here to unload. Talk! I never heard a 
woman talk the way she can ! She’d be a good one 
to have on board in a calm. Git her talkin’ abaft 
the mains’l and we’d have a twenty-knot breeze in 
a shake.” 

“ What was it this time? ” asked Captain Jerry. 

“ Oh, a little of everything. She begun about the 
‘ beautiful ’ sermon that Mr. Perley preached at the 
last ‘ Come-Outers’ ’ meetin’. That was what started 
me thinkin’ about the grave, I guess. Then she 
pitched into Seth Wingate’s wife for havin’ a new 
bunnit this season when the old one wan’t ha’f wore 
out. She talked for ten minutes or so on that, and 
then she begun about Parker’s bein’ let go over at the 
cable station and about the new feller that’s been 
signed to take his place. She’s all for Parker. Says 
he was a ‘ perfectly lovely ’ man and that ’twas out- 
rageous the way he was treated, and all that sort of 
thing.” 

“ She ain’t the only one that thinks so,” observed 


8 


CAFN ERI 


Captain Jerry. “ There’s a heap of folks in this 
town that think Parker was a mighty fine feller.” 

“ Yes,” said Captain Eri, “ and it’s worth while 
noticin’ who they be. Perez’ friend, M’lissy, thinks 
so, and ‘ Squealer ’ Wixon and his gang think so, 
and ‘ Web ’ Saunders thinks so, and a lot more like 
them. Parker was too good a feller, that’s what 
was the matter with him. His talk always reminded 
me of washday at the poorhouse, lots of soft soap 
with plenty of lye in it.” 

“ Well, M’lissy says that the men over to the sta- 
tion — all except Langley, of course — are mad as all 
git-out because Parker was let go, and she says some- 
body told somebody else, and somebody else told 
somebody else, and somebody else told her — she says 
it come reel straight — that the men are goin’ to make 
it hot for the new feller when he comes. She says his 
name’s Hazeltine, or somethin’ like that, and that 
he’s goin’ to get here to-morrer or next day.” 

“ Well,” said Captain Eri, “ it’s a mercy M’lissy 
found it out. If that man should git here and she 
not know it aforehand ’twould kill her sure as fate, 
and think what a blow that would be to you, Perez.” 

He took his old-fashioned watch from his pocket 
and glanced at the dial. 

“ I mustn’t be settin’ round here much longer,” he 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 


9 


added. “ John Baxter’s goin’ to have that little 
patch of cranberry swamp of his picked to-morrer, 
and he’s expectin’ some barrels down on to-night’s 
train. John asked me to git Zoeth Gaboon to cart 
’em down for him, but I ain’t got nothin’ special to 
do to-night, so I thought I’d hitch up and go and 
git ’em myself. You and Jerry can match cents to 
see who does the dishes. I did ’em last night, so 
it’s my watch below.” 

“ Well, I shan’t do ’em,” declared Captain Perez. 
“ Blessed if I’d do the durn things to-night if the 
President of the United States asked me to.” 

“Humph!” sputtered Captain Jerry. “I s’pose 
you fellers think I’ll do ’em all the time. If you do 
you’re mistook, that’s all. ’Twan’t last night you 
done ’em, Eri; ’twas the night afore. / done ’em 
last night, and I’m ready to take my chances agin if 
we match, but I’m jiggered if I let you shove the 
whole thing off onto me. I didn’t ship for cook no 
more ’n the rest of you.” 

Neither of the others saw fit to answer this declara- 
tion of independence and there was a pause in the 
conversation. Then Captain Jerry said moodily: 

“ It ain’t no use. It don’t work.” 

“What don’t work?” asked Captain Eri. 

“ Why, this plan of ours. I thought when we fel- 


10 


CAP’N ERI 


lers give up goin’ to sea reg’lar and settled down here 
to keep house ourselves and live economical and all 
that, that ’twas goin’ to be fine. I thought I 
wouldn’t mind doin’ my share of the work a bit, 
thought ’twould be kind of fun to swab decks and 
all that. Well, ’twas for a spell, but ’tain’t now. I’m 
so sick of it that I don’t know what to do. And I’m 
sick of livin’ in a pigpen, too. Look at them dead- 
lights ! They’re so dirty that when I turn out in the 
mornin’ and go to look through ’em, I can’t tell 
whether it’s foul weather or fair.” 

Captain Eri looked at the windows toward which 
his friend pointed and signed assent. 

“ There’s no use talkin’,” he observed, “ we’ve got 
to have a steward aboard this craft.” 

“ Yes,” said Captain Perez emphatically, “ a 
steward or a woman.” 

“ A woman! ” exclaimed Captain Eri. Then he 
shook his head solemnly and added, “There, Jerry 1 
What did I tell you ? M’lissy ! ” 

But Captain Perez did not smile. 

“ I ain’t foolin’,” he said; “ I mean it.” 

Captain Jerry thought of the spick-and-span days 
of his wife, dead these twenty years, and sighed 
again. “ I s’pose we might have a housekeeper,” he 
said. 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE a 

“ Housekeeper! ” sneered Captain Eri. “ Who’d 
you hire? Perez don’t, seemin’ly, take to M’lissy, 
and there ain’t nobody else in Orham that you could 
git, ’less ’twas old A’nt Zuby Higgins, and that would 
be actin’ like the feller that jumped overboard when 
his boat sprung a leak. No, sir ! If A’nt Zuby ships 
aboard here I heave up my commission.” 

“ Who said anything about A’nt Zuby or house- 
keepers either?” inquired Captain Perez. “I said 
we’d got to have a woman, and we have. One of 
us ’ll have to git married, that’s all.” 

“ Married! ” roared the two in chorus. 

“ That’s what I said, married, and take the others 
to board in this house. Look here now! When a 
shipwrecked crew’s starvin’ one of ’em has to be sac- 
rificed for the good of the rest, and that’s what we’ve 
got to do. One of us has got to git married for the 
benefit of the other two.” 

Captain Eri shouted hilariously. “ Good boy, 
Perez ! ” he cried. “ Coin’ to be the first offerin’ ? ” 

“ Not unless it’s my luck, Eri. We’ll all three 
match for it, same as we do ’bout washin’ the dishes.” 

“Where are you goin’ to find a wife?” asked 
Captain Jerry. 

“ Now that’s jest what I’m goin’ to show you. I 
see how things was goin’, and I’ve been thinkin’ this 


12 


CAFN ERI 


over for a consid’rable spell. Hold on a minute till 
I overhaul my kit.” 

He went into the front bedroom, and through the 
open door they could see him turning over the con- 
tents of the chest with P. R. in brass nails on the lid. 
He scattered about him fish-lines, hooks, lead for 
sinkers, oilcloth jackets, whales’ teeth, and various 
other articles, and at length came back bearing a 
much-crumpled sheet of printed paper. This he 
spread out upon the dining table, first pushing aside 
the dishes to make room, and, after adjusting his 
spectacles, said triumphantly: 

“ There ! There she is ! The Nup-ti-al Chime. 
A Journal of Matrimony. I see a piece about it in 
the Herald the other day, and sent a dime for a 
sample copy. It’s chock-full of advertisements from 
women that wants husbands.” 

Captain Eri put on his spectacles and hitched 
his chair up to the table. After giving the pages 
of the Nuptial Chime a hurried inspection, he re- 
marked : 

“ There seems to be a strong runnin’ to ‘ vi-va-ci- 
ous brunettes ’ and ‘ blondes with tender and roman- 
tic dispositions.’ Which of them kinds are you suf- 
ferin’ for, Perez ? Oh, say ! here’s a lady that’s willin’ 
to heave herself away on a young and handsome 


A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 13 


bachelor with a income of ten thousand a year. 
Seems to me you ought to answer that.” 

“ Oh, hush up, Eri ! ’Tain’t likely I’d want to 
write to any of them in there. The thing for us to do 
would be to write out a advertisement of our own; 
tell what sort of woman we want, and then set 
back and wait for answers. Now, what do you 
say? ” 

Captain Eri looked at the advocate of matrimony 
for a moment without speaking. Then he said : “ Do 
you really mean it, Perez ? ” 

“ Sartin I do.” 

“ What do you think of it, Jerry? ” 

“ Think it’s a good idee,” said that ancient mari- 
ner decisively. “ We’ve got to do somethin’, and 
this looks like the only sensible thing.” 

“ Then Eri’s got to do it ! ” asserted Captain 
Perez dogmatically. “ We agreed to stick together, 
and two to one’s a vote. Come on now, Eri, we’ll 
match.” 

Captain Eri hesitated. 

“ Come on, Eri I ” ordered Captain Jerry. “ Ain’t 
goin’ to mutiny, are you ? ” 

“ All right ! ” said Captain Eri, “ I’ll stick to the 
ship. Only,” he added, with a quizzical glance at 
his companions, “ it’s got to be settled that the feller 




CAFN ERI 


that’s stuck can pick his wife, and don’t have to marry 
unless he finds one that suits him.” 

The others agreed to this stipulation, and Cap- 
tain Perez, drawing a long breath, took a coin from 
his pocket, flipped it in the air and covered it, as it 
fell on the table, with a big hairy hand. Captain 
Eri did likewise; so did Captain Jerry. Then Cap- 
tain Eri lifted his hand and showed the coin be- 
neath; it was a head. Captain Jerry’s was a tail. 
Under Captain Perez’ hand lurked the hidden fate. 
The Captain’s lips closed in a grim line. With a 
desperate glance at the others he jerked his hand 
away. 

The penny lay head uppermost. Captain Jerry 
was “stuck.”’ 

Captain Eri rose, glanced at his watch, and, taking 
his hat from the shelf where the dishes should have 
been, opened the door. Before he went out, however, 
he turned and said: 

“ Perez, you and Jerry can be fixin’ up the adver- 
tisement while Pm gone. You can let me see it when 
1 come back. I say, Jerry,” he added to the “ sacri- 
fice,” who sat gazing at the pennies on the table in 
a sort of trance, “ don’t feel bad about it. Why, 
when you come to think of it, it’s a providence it 
turned out that way. Me and Perez are bachelors, 



TTIE TIIRF.lv C.APT.'MNS 








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A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE 15 


and we’d be jest green hands. But you’re a able 
seaman, you know what it is to manage a wife.” 

“ Yes, I do,” groaned Captain Jerry lugubriously. 
“ Burn it, that’s jest it ! ” 

Captain Eri was chuckling as, lantern in hand, he 
passed around the corner of the little white house on 
the way to the barn. He chuckled all through the 
harnessing of Daniel, the venerable white horse. He 
was still chuckling as, perched on the seat of the 
“ truck wagon,” he rattled and shook out of the yard 
and turned into the sandy road that led up to the 
village. And an outsider, hearing these chuckles, and 
knowing what had gone before, might have inferred 
that perhaps Captain Eri did not view the “ match- 
ing ” and the matrimonial project with quite the 
deadly seriousness of the other two occupants of the 
house by the shore. 


CHAPTER II 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


# 


is In Orham a self-appointed 

# rri # committee whose duty it is to see the 

# I # train come in. The committeemen 

^ receive no salary for their services; 

the sole compensation is the pleasure 
derived from the sense of duty done. Rain, snow, 
or shine, the committee is on hand at the station- - 
the natives, of course, call it the “ deepo ” — to con- 
sume borrowed tobacco and to favor Providence 
with Its advice concerning the running of the uni- 
verse. Also it discusses local affairs with fluency 
and more or less point. 

Mr. “ Squealer ” WIxon, a lifelong member of 
this committee, was the first to sight Captain Eri 
as the latter strolled across the tracks into the circle 
of light from the station lamps. The Captain had 
moored Daniel to a picket in the fence over by the 
freight-house. He had heard the clock in the belfry 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


<7 


of the Methodist church strike eight as he drove by 
that edifice, but he heard no whistle from the direc- 
tion of the West Orham woods, so he knew that the 
down train would arrive at its usual time, that is, 
from fifteen to twenty minutes behind the schedule. 

“ Hey ! ” shouted Mr. Wixon with enthusiasm. 
“ Here’s Cap’n Eri ! Well, Cap, how’s she 
headin’?” 

“ ’Bout no’theast by no’th,” was the calm re- 
ply. “ Runnin’ fair, but with lookout for wind 
ahead.” 

“ Hain’t got a spare chaw nowheres about you, 
have you, Cap’n?” anxiously inquired “ Bluey ” 
Batcheldor. Mr. Batcheldor is called “Bluey” for 
the same reason that Mr. Wixon is called “ Squeal- 
er,” and that reason has been forgotten for years. 

Captain Eri obligingly produced a black plug of 
smoking tobacco, and Mr. Batcheldor bit off two- 
thirds and returned the balance. After adjusting 
the morsel so that it might interfere in the least 
degree with his vocal machinery, he drawled: 

“ I cal’late you ain’t heard the news, Eri. Web 
Saunders has got his original-package license. It 
come on the noon mail.” 

The Captain turned sharply toward the spealcer. 
“ Is that a fact? ” he asked. “ Who told you? ” 


i8 


CAFN ERI 


“ See it myself. So did Squealer and a whole lot 
more. Web was showin’ it round.” 

“ We was wonderin’,” said Jabez Smalley, a 
member of the committee whose standing was some- 
what impaired, inasmuch as he went fishing occa- 
sionally and was, therefore, obliged to miss some 
of the meetings, “ what kind of a fit John Baxter 
would have now. He’s been pretty nigh distracted 
ever sence Web started his billiard room, callin’ it a 
‘ ha’nt of sin ’ and a whole lot more names. There 
ain’t been a ‘ Come-Outers’ meetin’ ’ sence I don’t 
know when that he ain’t pitched into that saloon. 
Now, when he hears that Web’s goin’ to sell rum, 
he’ll bust a biler sure.” 

The committee received this prophecy with an 
hilarious shout of approval and each member began 
to talk. Captain Eri took advantage of this simul- 
taneous expression of opinion to walk away. He 
looked in at the window of the ticket-office, ex- 
changed greetings with Sam Hardy, the station- 
master, and then leaned against the corner of the 
building furthest removed from Mr. Wixon and 
his friends, lit his pipe and puffed thoughtfully 
with a troubled expression on his face. 

From the clump of blackness that indicated the 
beginning of the West Orham woods came a long- 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


19 


drawn dismal “ toot then two shorter ones. The 
committee sprang to its feet and looked interested. 
Sam Hardy came out of the ticket office. The stage- 
driver, a sharp-looking boy of about fourteen, with 
a disagreeable air of cheap smartness sticking out 
all over him, left his seat in the shadow of Mr. 
Batcheldor’s manly form, tossed a cigarette stump 
away and loafed over to the vicinity of the “ depot 
wagon,” which was backed up against the platform. 
Captain Eri knocked the ashes from his pipe and put 
that service-stained veteran in his pocket. The 
train was really “ coming in ” at last. 

If this had been an August evening instead of a 
September one, both train and platform would have 
been crowded. But the butterfly summer maiden had 
flitted and, as is his wont, the summer man had flitted 
after her, so the passengers who alighted from the 
two coaches that, with the freight car, made up the 
Orham Branch train, were few in number and 
homely in flavor. There was a very stout lady with 
a canvas extension case and an umbrella in one hand 
and a bulging shawl-strap and a pasteboard box in 
the other, who panted and wheezed like the locomo- 
tive itself and who asked the brakeman, “ What on 
airth do they have such high steps for?” There 
was a slim, not to say gawky, individual with a chin 


20 


CAFN ERI 


beard and rubber boots, whom the committee hailed 
as “ Andy ” and welcomed to its bosom. There were 
two young men, drummers, evidently, who nodded to 
Hardy, and seemed very much at home. Also, there 
was another young man, smooth-shaven and square- 
shouldered, who deposited a suit-case on the platform 
and looked about him with the air of being very far 
from home, indeed. 

The drummers and the stout lady got into the 
stage. The young man with the suit-case picked up 
the latter and walked toward the same vehicle. He 
accosted the sharp boy, who had lighted another 
cigarette. 

“Can you direct me to the cable station?” he 
asked. 

“ Sure thing ! ” said the youth, and there was no 
Cape Cod twist to his accent. “ Git aboard.” 

“ I didn’t intend to ride,” said the stranger. 

“ What was you goin’ to do? Walk? ” 

“ Yes, if it’s not far.” 

The boy grinned, and the members of the com- 
mittee, who had been staring with all their might, 
grinned also. The young man’s mention of the cable 
station seemed to have caused considerable excite- 
ment. 

“ Oh, it ain’t too far!” said the stage-driver. Then 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


21 


he added : “ Say, you’re the new electrician, ain’t 
you?” 

The young man hesitated for a moment. Then he 
said, “ Yes,” and suggested, “ I asked the way.” 

“Two blocks to the right; that’s the main road, 
keep on that for four blocks, then turn to the left, and 
if you keep on straight ahead you’ll get to the sta- 
tion.” 

“ Blocks ? ” The stranger smiled. “ I think you 
must be from New York.” 

“ Do you ? ” inquired the youthful prodigy, climb- 
ing to the wagon seat. “ Don’t forget to keep 
straight ahead after you turn off the main road. 
Git dap! So Ipng, fellers!” He leaned over the 
wheel, as the stage turned, and bestowed a wink upon 
the delighted “ Squealer,” who was holding one 
freckled paw over his mouth ; then the “ depot 
wagon ” creaked away. 

The square-shouldered young man looked after 
the equipage with an odd expression of countenance. 
Then he shrugged his shoulders, picked up the suit- 
case, and walked off the platform into the darkness. 

Mr. Wixon removed the hand from his mouth 
and displayed a mammoth grin, that grew into a 
shriek of laughter in which every member of the com* 
mittee joined. 


22 


CAFN ERI 


“ Haw! haw! ” bellowed “ Bluey,” “ so that’s the 
feller that done Parker out of his job ! Well, he may 
be mighty smart, but if that Joe Bartlett ain’t smarter 
then I’m a skate, that’s all ! Smartest boy ever I see ! 
‘ If you keep on straight ahead you’ll git to the sta- 
tion ! ’ Gosh ! he’ll have to wear rubbers ! ” 

“ Maybe he’s web-footed,” suggested Smalley, and 
they laughed again. 

A little later Captain Eri, with a dozen new, clean- 
smelling cranberry barrels in the wagon behind him, 
drove slowly down the “ depot road.” It was a clear 
night, but there was no moon, and Orham was almost 
at its darkest, which is very dark, indeed. The “ de- 
pot road ” — please bear in mind that there are no 
streets in Orham — was full of ruts, and although 
Daniel knew his way and did his best to follow it, the 
cranberry barrels rattled and shook in lively fashion. 
There are few homes near the station, and the dwell- 
ers in them conscientiously refrain from showing 
lights except in the ends of the buildings furthest 
from the front. Strangers are inclined to wonder at 
this, but when they become better acquainted with the 
town and its people, they come to know that front 
gates and parlors are, by the majority of the inhabi- 
tants, restricted in their use to occasions such as a 
funeral, or, possibly, a wedding. For the average 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


23 


Orham family to sit in the parlor on a week evening 
would be an act bordering pretty closely on sacri- 
lege. 

It is from the hill by the Methodist church that the 
visitor to Orham gets his best view of the village. It 
is all about him, and for the most part below him. 
At night the lights in the houses show only here and 
there through the trees, but those on the beaches and 
at sea shine out plainly. The brilliant yellow gleam 
a mile away is from the Orham lighthouse on the 
bluff. The smaller white dot marks the light on 
Baker’s Beach. The tiny red speck in the distance, 
that goes and comes again, is the flash-light at Se- 
tuckit Point, and the twinkle on the horizon to the 
south is the beacon of the lightship on Sand Hill 
Shoal. 

It is on his arrival at this point, too, that the 
stranger first notices the sound of the surf. Being a 
newcomer, he notices this at once ; after he has been in 
the village a few weeks, he ceases to notice it at all. 
It is like the ticking of a clock, so incessant and regu- 
lar, that one has to listen intently for a moment or 
two before his accustomed ear will single it out and 
make it definite. One low, steady, continuous roar, a 
little deeper in tone when the wind is easterly, the 
voice of the old dog Ocean gnawing with foaming 


24 


CAFN ERl 


mouth at the bone of the Cape and growling as he 
gnaws. 

It may be that the young man w'ith the square 
shoulders and the suit-case had paused at the turn 
of the road by the church to listen to this song of the 
sea ; at any rate he was there, and when Captain Eri 
steered Daniel and the cranberry barrels around the 
corner and into the “ main road,” he stepped out 
and hailed. 

“I beg your pardon,” he said; “I’m afraid I’m 
mixed in my directions. The stage-driver told me the 
way to the cable station, but I’ve forgotten whether 
he said to turn to the right when I reached here, or to 
the left.” 

Captain Eri took his lantern from the floor of the 
wagon and held it up. He had seen the stranger 
when the latter left the train, but he had not heard 
the dialogue with Josiah Bartlett. 

“How was you cal’latin’ to go to the station?” 
he asked. 

“ Why, I intended to walk.” 

“ Did you tell them fellers at the depot that you 
wanted to walk? ” 

“ Certainly.” 

“ Well, I swan I And they give you the direc- 
tion? ” 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


25 


“Yes,” a little impatiently; “why shouldn’t they? 
So many blocks till I got to the main street, or road, 
and so many more, till I got somewhere else, and 
then straight on.” 

“Blocks, hey? That’s Joe Bartlett. That boy 
ought to be mastheaded, and I’ve told Perez so 
more’n once. Well, Mister, I guess maybe you’d bet- 
ter not try to walk to the cable station to-night. You 
see, there’s one thing they forgot to tell you. The 
station’s on the outer beach, and there’s a ha’f mile 
of pretty wet water between here and there.” 

The young man whistled. “ You don’t mean it! ” 
he exclaimed. 

“ I sartin do, unless there’s been an almighty 
drought since I left the house. I tell you what ! If 
you’ll jump in here with me, and don’t mind waitin' 
till I leave these barrels at the house of the man that 
owns ’em. I’ll drive you down to the shore and maybe 
find somebody to row you over. That is,” with a 
chuckle, “ if you ain’t dead set on walkin’.” 

The stranger laughed heartily. “ I’m not so stub- 
born as all that,” he said. “ It’s mighty good of you, 
all the same.” 

“ Don’t say a word,” said the Captain. “ Give us 
your satchel. Now your flipper! There you are! 
Git dap, Dan’l ! ” 


zb 


CAFN ERl 


Daniel accepted the Captain’s command in a toler- 
ant spirit. He paddled along at a jog-trot for per- 
haps a hundred yards, and then, evidently feeling 
that he had done all that could be expected, settled 
back into a walk. The Captain turned towards his 
companion on the seat: 

“ I don’t know as I mentioned it,” he observed, 
“ but my name is Hedge.” 

“ Glad to meet you, Mr. Hedge,” said the 
stranger. “ My name is HaMltine.” 

“ I kind of jedged it might be when you said you 
wanted to git to the cable station. We heard you was 
expected.” 

“ Did you ? From Mr. Langley, I presume.” 

“ No-o, not d’rectly. Of course, we knew Parker 
had been let go, and that somebody would have to 
take his place. I guess likely it was one of the opera- 
tors that told it fust that you was the man, but any- 
how it got as fur as M’lissy Busteed, and after that 
’twas plain sailin’. You come from New York, don’t 
you? ” 

” Yes.” 

“ Well, you know how ’tis when a thing gits into 
the papers. Orham ain’t big enough to have a paper 
of its own, so the Almighty give us M’lissy, I jedge, 
as a sort of substitute. She can spread a little news 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


27 


over more country than anybody I know. If she 
spreads butter the same way, she could make money 
keepin’ boarders. Is this your fust visit to the 
Cape?” 

“ Yes. I hardly know why I’m here now. I have 
been with the Cable Company at their New York 
experimental station for some years, and the other 
day the General Manager called me into his office 
and told me I was expected to take the position of 
electrician here. I thought it might add to my 
experience, so I accepted.” 

“ Humph I Did he say anything about the general 
liveliness of things around the station?” 

Mr. Hazeltine laughed. “ Why,” he answered, 
“ now that you speak of it, I remember that he began 
by asking me if I had any marked objection to prema- 
ture burial.” 

The Captain chuckled. “ The outer beach in 
winter ain’t exactly a camp-meeting for sociableness,” 
he said. “ And the idea of that Bartlett boy tellin’ 
you how to walk there ! ” 

“ Is he a specimen of your Cape Cod youngsters? ” 

“ Not exactly. He’s a new shipment from New 
York. Grand-nephew of a messmate of mine, Cap’n 
Perez Ryder. Perez, he’s a bachelor, but his sister’s 
daughter married a feller named Bartlett. Maybe 


28 


CAFN ERI 


you knew him; he used to run a tugboat in the 
Sound.” 

Mr. Hazeltine, much amused, denied the acquaint- 
ance. 

“ Well, I s’pose you wouldn’t, nat’rally,” con- 
tinued the Captain. “ Anyhow, Perez’s niece’s hus- 
band died, and the boy sort of run loose, as yer might 
say. Went to school when he had to, and raised Ned 
when he didn’t, near’s I can find out. ’Lizabeth, 
that’s his ma, died last spring, and she made Perez 
promise — he being the only relation the youngster 
had — to fetch the boy down here and sort of bring 
him up. Perez knows as much about bringing up a 
boy as a hen does about the Ten Commandments, and 
’Lizabeth made him promise not to lick the youngster 
and a whole lot more foolishness. School don’t com- 
mence here till October, so we got him a job with 
Lem Mullett at the liv’ry stable. He’s boardin’ with 
Lem till school opens. He ain’t a reel bad boy, but 
he knows too much ’bout some things and not ha’f 
enough ’bout others. You’ve seen fellers like that, 
maybe ? ” 

Hazeltine nodded. “ There are a good many of 
that kind in New York, Pm afraid,” he said. 

Captain Eri smiled. “ I shouldn’t wonder,” he ob- 
served. “ The boys down here think Josiah’s the 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


29 


whole crew, and the girls ain’t fur behind. There’s 
been more deviltry in this village sence he landed 
than there ever was afore. He needs somethin’, and 
needs it bad, but I ain’t decided jest what it is yit. 
Are you a married man ? ” 

“ No.” 

“ Same here. Never had the disease. Perez, he’s 
had symptoms every once in a while, but nothin’ 
lastin’. Jerry’s the only one of us three that’s been 
through the mill. His wife died twenty year ago. 
I don’t know as I told you, but Jerry and Perez and 
me are keepin’ house down by the shore. That is, we 
call it keepin’ house, but ” 

Here the Captain broke off and seemed to medi- 
tate. 

Ralph Hazeltine forbore to interrupt, and occu- 
pied himself by scrutinizing the buildings that they 
were passing. They were nearing the center of the 
town now, and the houses were closer together than 
they had been on the “ depot road,” but never so 
close as to be in the least crowded. Each house had 
its ample front yard, and the new arrival could smell 
the box hedges and see, now and then, the whiteness 
of the kalsomined stones that bordered a driveway. 
It was too dark for the big seashells at the front steps 
to be visible, but they were there, all the same ; every 


30 


CAFN ERl 


third house of respectability in Orham has them. 
There was an occasional shop, too, with signs like 
“ Cape Cod Variety Store,” or “ The Boston Dry 
Goods Emporium,” over their doors. On the plat- 
form of one a small crowd was gathered, and from 
the interior came shouts of laughter and the sound 
of a tin-panny piano. 

“ That’s the billiard saloon,” volunteered Captain 
Eri, suddenly waking from his trance. “ Play pool, 
Mr. Hazeltine?” 

“ Sometimes.” 

“ What d’ye play it with? ” 

“ Why, with a cue, generally speaking.” 

“That so! Most of the fellers in there play it 
with their mouths. Miss a shot and then spend the 
rest of the evenin’ tellin’ how it happened.” 

“ I don’t think I should care to play it that way,” 
said Ralph, laughing. 

“ Well, it has its good p’ints. Kind of all-round 
exercise ; develops the lungs and strengthens the mus- 
cles, as the patent-medicine almanac says. Parker 
played it considerable.” 

“ I judge that your opinion of my predecessor isn’t 
a high one.” 

“ Who ? Oh, Parker I He was all right in his 
way. Good many folks in this town swore by him. 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


3» 


I understand the fellers over at the station thought 
he was about the ticket.” 

“ Mr. Langley included ? ” 

“ Oh, Mr. Langley, bein’ manager, had his own 
ideas, I s’pose! Langley don’t play pool much; not 
at Web Saunders’ place, anyhow. We turn in 
here.” 

They rolled up a long driveway, very dark and 
overgrown with trees, and drew up at the back door 
of a good-sized two-story house. There was a light 
in the kitchen window. 

“ Whoa, Dan’l ! ” commanded the Captain. Then 
he began to shout, “ Ship ahoy ! ” at the top of his 
lungs. 

The kitchen door opened and a man came out, 
carrying a lamp, its light shining full upon his face. 
It was an old face, a stern face, with white eyebrows 
and a thin-lipped mouth. Just such a face as looked 
on with approval when the executioner held up the 
head of Charles I., at Whitehall. There was, how- 
ever, a tremble about the chin that told of infirm 
health. 

“ Hello, John 1 ” said Captain Eri heartily. 
“ John, let me make you acquainted with Mr. Hazel- 
tine, the new man at the cable station. Mr. Hazel- 
tine, this is my friend, Cap’n John Baxter.” 


32 


CAFN ERI 


The two shook hands, and then Captain Eri 
said: 

“ John, I brought down them barrels for you. 
Hawkins got ’em here, same as he always does, by 
the skin of his teeth. Stand by now, ’cause I’ve got 
to deliver Mr. Hazeltine at the station, and it’s git- 
tin’ late.” 

John Baxter said nothing, beyond thanking his 
friend for the good turn, but he “ stood by,” as di- 
rected, and the barrels were quickly unloaded. As 
they were about to drive out of the yard. Captain Eri 
turned in his seat and said : 

“ John, guess I’ll be up some time to-morrow. I 
want to talk with you about that billiard-room busi- 
ness.” 

The lamp in Baxter’s hand shook. 

“ God A’mighty’s got his eye on that place, Eri 
Hedge,” he shouted, “ and on them that’s runnin’ 
it!” 

“ That’s all right,” said the Captain. “ Then the 
job’s in good hands, and we ain’t got to worry. 
Good-night.” 

But, in spite of this assurance, Hazeltine noticed 
that his driver was silent and preoccupied until 
they reached the end of the road by the shore, 
when he brought the willing Daniel to a stand- 


THE TRAIN COMES IN 


33 


still and announced that it was time to “ change 
cars.” 

It is a fifteen-minute row from the mainland to 
the outer beach, and Captain Eri made it on schedule 
time. Hazeltine protested that he was used to a 
boat, and could go alone and return the dory in the 
morning, but the Captain wouldn’t hear of it. The 
dory slid up on the sand and the passenger climbed 
out. The sound of the surf on the ocean side of 
the beach was no longer a steady roar, it was broken 
into splashing plunges and hisses with, running 
through it, a series of blows like those of a muffled 
hammer. The wind was wet and smelt salty. 

“ There’s the station,” said the Captain, pointing 
to a row of lighted windows a quarter of a mile away. 
“ It is straight ahead this time, and the walkin’s bet- 
ter’n it has been for the last few minutes. Good- 
night!” 

The electrician put his hand in his pocket, hesi- 
tated, and then withdrew it, empty. 

“ I’m very much obliged to you for all this,” he 
said. “ I’m glad to have made your acquaintance, 
and I hope we shall see each other often.” 

“ Same here I ” said the Captain heartily. “ We’re 
likely to git together once in a while, seein’ as we’re 
next-door neighbors, right across the road, as you 


CAFN ERI 


might say. That’s my berth over yonder, where you 
see them lights. It’s jest ’round the corner from the 
road we drove down last. Good-night! Good luck 
to you ! ” 

And he settled himself for the row home. 


CHAPTER III 


THE “ COMB-OUTERS' ” MEETING 

house where the three Captains 
# m # lived was as near salt water as it 
could be and remain out of reach of 
the highest tides. When Captain 
Eri, after beaching and anchoring 
his dory and stabling Daniel for the night, entered 
the dining room he found his two messmates deep in 
consultation, and with evidences of strenuous mental 
struggle written upon their faces. Captain Perez’s 
right hand was smeared with ink and there were 
several spatters of the same fluid on Captain Jerry’s 
perspiring nose. Crumpled sheets of note paper 
were on the table and floor, and Lorenzo, who was 
purring restfully upon the discarded jackets of the 
two mariners, alone seemed to be enjoying himself. 

“ Well, you fellers look as if you’d had a rough 
v’yage,” commented Captain Eri, slipping out of his 


# I # 
m ^ m 


36 


CAP’N ERI 


own jacket and pulling his chair up beside those of 
his friends. “ What’s the trouble ? ” 

“ Gosh, Eri, I’m glad to see you ! ” exclaimed Cap- 
tain Perez, drawing the hand, just referred to, across 
his forehead and thereby putting that portion of his 
countenance into mourning. “ How do you spell 
conscientious ? ” 

“ I don’t, unless it’s owner’s orders,” was the an- 
swer. “ What do you want to spell it for? ” 

“ We’ve writ much as four hundred advertise- 
ments, I do believe ! ” said Captain Jerry, “ and there 
ain’t one of them fit to feed to a pig. Perez here, 
he’s got such hifalutin’ notions, that nothin’ less than 
a circus bill ’ll do him. I don’t see why somethin’ 
plain and sensible like ‘ Woman wanted to do dishes 
and clean house for three men,’ wouldn’t be all right; 
but no, it’s got to have more fancy trimmin’s than a 
Sunday bunnit. Foolishness, I call it.” 

“ You’d have a whole lot of women answerin’ 
that advertisement, now wouldn’t you ? ” snorted 
Captain Perez hotly. “ ‘ To do dishes for three 
men ! ’ That’s a healthy bait to catch a wife with, 
ain’t it? I can see ’em cornin’. I cal’late you’d stay 
single till Jedgment, and then you wouldn’t git one. 
No, sir I The thing to do is to be sort of soft-soapy 
and high-toned. Let ’em think they’re goin’ to git a 


“GOME-OUTERS’ ” MEETING 


37 


bargain when they git you. Make believe it’s goin’ 
to be a privilege to git sech a husband.” 

“ Well, ’tis,” declared the sacrifice indignantly. 
“ They might git a dum-sight worse one.” 

“ I cal’late that’s so, Jerry,” said Captain Eri. 
“ Still, Perez ain’t altogether wrong. Guess you’d 
better keep the dishwashin’ out of it. I know dish- 
washin’ would never git me; I’ve got so I hate the 
sight of soap and hot water as bad as if I was a Por- 
tugee. Pass me that pen.” 

Captain Perez gladly relinquished the writing ma- 
terials, and Captain Eri, after two or three trials, by 
which he added to the paper decorations of the floor, 
produced the following: 

“ Wife Wanted — By an ex-seafaring man of 
steady babbits. Must be willing to Work and Keep 
House shipshape and aboveboard. No sea-lawyers 
need apply. Address — Skipper, care the Nuptial 
Chime, Boston, Mass.” 

The line relating to sea-lawyers was insisted upon 
by Captain Jerry. “ That ’ll shut out the tonguey 
kind,” he explained. The advertisement, with this 
addition, being duly approved, the required fifty 
cents was inclosed, as was a letter to the editor of 
the matrimonial journal requesting all answers to be 
forwarded to Captain Jeremiah Burgess, Orham, 


38 


CAFN ERI 


Mass. Then the envelope was directed and the 
stamp affixed. 

“ There,” said Captain Eri, “ that’s done. All 
you’ve got to do now, Jerry, is to pick out your wife 
and let us know what you want for a weddin’ present. 
You’re a lucky man.” 

“ Aw, let’s talk about somethin’ else,” said the 
lucky one rather gloomily. “ What’s the news up 
at the depot, Eri ? ” 

They received the tidings of the coming of Hazel- 
tine with the interest due to such an event. Captain 
Eri gave them a detailed account of his meeting with 
the new electrician, omitting, however, in considera- 
tion for the feelings of Captain Perez, to mention 
the fact that it was the Bartlett boy who started that 
gentleman upon his walk to the cable station. 

“ Well, what did you think of him? ” asked Cap- 
tain Perez, when the recital was finished. 

“ Seemed to me like a pretty good feller,” an- 
swered Captain Eri deliberately. “ He didn’t git 
mad at the joke the gang played on him, for one 
thing. He ain’t so smooth-tongued as Parker used 
to be and he didn’t treat Baxter and me as if Cape 
Codders was a kind of animals, the way some of the 
summer folks do. He had the sense not to offer to 
pay me for takin’ him over to the station, and I liked 


COME-OUTERS’ ” MEETING 


39 


that. Take it altogether, he seemed like a pretty 
decent chap — for a New Yorker,” he added, as an 
after thought. 

” But say,” he said a moment later, “ I’ve got 
some more news and it ain’t good news, either. Web 
Saunders has got his liquor license.” 

“ I want to know ! ” exclaimed Captain Perez. 

“You don’t tell me!” said Captain Jerry. 

Then they both said, “ What will John Baxter do 
now ? ” And Captain Eri shook his head dubi- 
ously. 

The cod bit well next morning and Captain Eri 
did not get in from the Windward Ledge until after- 
noon. By the way, it may be well to explain that 
Captain Jerry’s remarks concerning “ settlin’ down ” 
and “ restin’,” which we chronicled in the first chapter 
must not be accepted too literally. While it is true 
that each of the trio had given up long voyages, it 
is equally true that none had given up work .entirely. 
Some people might not consider it restful to rise 
at four every weekday morning and sail in a catboat 
twelve miles out to sea and haul a wet cod line for 
hours, not to mention the sail home and the cleaning 
and barreling of the catch. Captain Eri did that. 
Captain Perez was what he called “ stevedore ” — 
that is, general caretaker during the owner’s absence, 


40 


CAFN ERI 


at Mr. Delaney Barry’s summer estate on the “ cliff 
road.” As for Captain Jerry, he was janitor at the 
schoolhouse. 

The catch was heavy the next morning, as has 
been said, and by the time the last fish was split and 
iced and the last barrel sent to the railway station it 
was almost supper time. Captain Eri had intended 
calling on Baxter early in the day, but now he de- 
termined to wait until after supper. 

The Captain had bad luck in the “ matching ” 
that followed the meal, and it was nearly eight o’clock 
before he finished washing dishes. This distasteful 
task being completed, he set out for the Baxter home- 
stead. 

The Captain’s views on the liquor question were 
broader than those of many Orham citizens. He 
was an abstainer, generally speaking, but his scruples 
were not as pronounced as those of Miss Abigail 
Mullett, whose proudest boast was that she had 
refused brandy when the doctor prescribed it as the 
stimulant needed to save her life. Over and over 
again has Miss Abigail told it in prayer-meeting; 
how she “ riz up” in her bed, “expectin’ every 
breath to be the last ” and said, “ Dr. Palmer, if 
it’s got to be liquor or death, then death referred 
to ! ” — ^meaning, it is fair to presume, that death 


'‘COMB-OUTERS' ” MEETING 


41 


was preferred rather than the brandy. With much 
more concerning her miraculous recovery through 
the aid of a “ terbacker and onion poultice.” 

On general principles the Captain objected to the 
granting of a license to a fellow like “ Web ” Saun- 
ders, but it was the effect that this action of the 
State authorities might have upon his friend John 
Baxter that troubled him most. 

For forty-five years John Baxter was called by 
Cape Cod people “ as smart a skipper as ever trod 
a plank.” He saved money, built an attractive home 
for his wife and daughter, and would, in the ordinary 
course of events, have retired to enjoy a comfortable 
old age. But his wife died shortly after the daugh- 
ter’s marriage to a Boston man, and on a voyage to 
Manila, Baxter himself suffered from a sunstroke 
and a subsequent fever, that left him a physical 
wreck and for a time threatened to unsettle his 
reason. He recovered a portion of his health and 
the threatened insanity disappeared, except for a 
religious fanaticism that caused him to accept the 
Bible literally and to interpret it accordingly. When 
his daughter and her husband were drowned in the 
terrible City of Belfast disaster, it is an Orham 
tradition that John Baxter, dressed in gunny-bags 
and sitting on an ash-heap, was found by his friends 


42 


CAFN ERI 


mourning in what he believed to be the Biblical 
“ sackcloth and ashes.” His little baby grand- 
daughter had been looked out for by some kind 
friends in Boston. Only Captain Eri knew that 
John Baxter’s yearly trip to Boston was made for 
the purpose of visiting the girl who was his sole 
reminder of the things that might have been, but 
even the Captain did not know that the money that 
paid her board and, as she grew older, for her gowns 
and schooling, came from the bigoted, stern old 
hermit, living alone in the old house at Orham. 

In Orham, and in other sections of the Cape as 
well, there is a sect called by the ungodly, “ The 
Come-Outers.” They were originally seceders from 
the Methodist churches who disapproved of modern 
innovations. They ” come out ” once a week to meet 
at the houses of the members, and theirs are lively 
meetings. John Baxter was a “ Come-Outer,” and 
ever since the enterprising Mr. Saunders opened his 
billiard room, the old man’s tirades of righteous 
wrath had been directed against this den of iniquity. 
Since it became known that “ Web ” had made appli- 
cation for the license, it was a regular amusement 
for the unregenerate to attend the gatherings of the 
“ Come-Outers ” and hear John Baxter call down 
fire from Heaven upon the billiard room, its 


" COME-OUTERS”* MEETING 43 


proprietor, and its patrons. Orham people had 
begun to say that John Baxter was “ billiard-saloon 
crazy.” 

And John Baxter was Captain Eri’s friend, a 
friendship that had begun in school when the de- 
claimer of Patrick Henry’s “ Liberty or Death ” 
speech on Examination Day took a fancy to and 
refused to laugh at the little chap who tremblingly 
ventured to assert that he loved “ little Pussy, her 
coat is so warm.” The two had changed places 
until now it was Captain Eri who protected and 
advised. 

When the Captain rapped at John Baxter’s 
kitchen door no one answered, and, after yelling 
“Ship ahoy!” through the keyhole a number of 
times, he was forced to the conclusion that his friend 
was not at home. 

“You lookin’ fer Cap’n Baxter?” queried Mrs. 
Sarah Taylor, who lived just across the road. “ He’s 
gone to Come-Outers’ meetin’, I guess. There’s 
one up to Barzilla Small’s to-night.” 

Mr, Barzilla Small lived in that part of the vil- 
lage called “ down to the neck,” and when the 
Captain arrived there, he found the parlor filled 
with the devout, who were somewhat surprised to 
see him. 


44 


CAFN ERI 


“ Why, how do you do? ” said Mrs. Small, re- 
splendent in black “ alpaca ” and wearing her jet ear- 
rings. “I snum if you ain’t a stranger! We’ll 
have a reel movin’ meetin’ to-night because Mr. 
Perley’s here, and he says he feels the sperrit a- 
workin’. Set right down there by the what-not. 
Luther,” to her oldest but three, “ give Cap’n Hedge 
your chair. You can set on the cricket. Yes, you 
can ! Don’t answer back 1 ” 

“ Aw, ma ! ” burst out the indignant Luther, 
“how d’yer think I’m goin’ to set on that cricket? 
My laigs ’ll be way up under my chin. Make Hart 
set on it; he’s shorter ’n me.” 

“ Shan’t nuther. Lute Small ! ” declared Hart- 
well, a freckle-faced youngster, who was the next 
step downward in the family stair of children. “ Set 
on it yourself. Make him, ma, now! You said 
he’d have to.” 

“ Now, ma, I 

“ Be still, both of you ! I sh’d think you’d be 
ashamed, with everybody here so ! Oh, my soul and 
body! ” turning to the company, “ if it ain’t enough 
to try a saint! Sometimes seems ’s if I should give 
up. You be thankful, Abigail,” to Miss Mullett, 
who sat by the door, “ that you ain’t got nine in a 
family and nobody to help teach ’em manners. If 


" COME-OUTERS’” MEETING 


45 


Barzilla was like most men, he’d have some discip- 
line in the house; but no, I have to do it all, 
and ” 

Mr. Small, thus publicly rebuked, rose from his 
seat in the corner by the melodeon and proclaimed 
in a voice that he tried hard not to make apolo- 
getic : 

“ Now, Luther, if I was you I’d be a good boy 
and mind ma.” 

Even this awe-inspiring command had little effect 
upon the reluctant Luther, but Captain Eri, who, 
smiling and bowing right and left, had been working 
his passage to the other side of the room, announced 
that he was all right and would “ squeeze in on the 
sofy ’side of Cap’n Baxter.” So there was peace 
once more, that is, as much peace as half a dozen 
feminine tongues, all busy with different subjects, 
would allow. 

“ Why, Eri ! ” whispered John Baxter, “ I didn’t 
expect to see you here. I’m glad, though; Lord 
knows every God-fearin’ man in this town has need 
to be on his knees this night. Have you heard 
about it? ” 

“ Cap’n John means about the rum-sellin’ license 
that Web Saunders has got,” volunteered Miss Me- 
lissa Busteed, leaning over from her seat in the patent 


46 


CAFN ERl 


rocker that had been the premium earned by Mrs. 
Small for selling one hundred and fifty pounds of 
tea for a much-advertised house. “Ain’t it awful? 
I says to Prissy Baker this mornin’, soon ’s I heard 
of it, ‘ Prissy,’ s’ I, ‘ there ’ll be a jedgment on this 
town sure’s you’re a livin’ woman,’ s’ I. Says she, 
‘ That’s so, M’lissy,’ s’ she, and I says ” 

Well, when Miss Busteed talks, interruptions are 
futile, so Captain Eri sat silent, as the comments of 
at least one-tenth of the population of Orham were 
poured into his ears. The recitation was cut short 
by Mrs. Small’s vigorous pounding on the center 
table. 

“ We’re blessed this evenin’,” said the hostess 
with emotion, “ in havin’ Mr. Perley with us. He’s 
goin’ to lead the meetin’.” 

The Reverend Mr. Perley — Reverend by courtesy ; 
he had never been ordained — stood up, cleared his 
throat with vigor, rose an inch or two on the toes of 
a very squeaky pair of boots, sank to heel level again 
and announced that everyone would join in singing, 
“ Hymn number one hundred and ten, omitting the 
second and fourth stanzas: hymn number one hun- 
dred and ten, second and fourth stanzas omitted.” 
The melodeon, tormented by Mrs. Lurania Bassett, 
shrieked and groaned, and the hymn was sung. So 


“GOME-OUTERS’” MEETING 


47 


was another, and yet another. Then Mr. Perley 
squeaked to his tiptoes again, subsided, and began 
a lengthy and fervent discourse. 

Mr. Perley had been a blacksmith in Ostable be- 
fore he “ got religion,” and now spent the major 
portion of his time in “ boardin’ ’round ” with 
“ Come-Outers ” up and down the Cape and taking 
part in their meetings. His services at such gather- 
ings paid for his food and lodging. He had been 
a vigorous horseshoer in the old days ; now he 
preached just as vigorously. 

He spoke of the faithful few here gathered to- 
gether. He spoke of the scoffing of those outside 
the pale and hinted at the uncomfortable future that 
awaited them. He ran over the various denomina- 
tions one by one, and one by one showed them to be 
worshipers of idols and followers after strange 
gods. He sank hoarsely into the bass and quavered 
up into falsetto and a chorus of “ Amens ! ” and 
“ Hallelujahs ! ” followed him. 

“Oh, brothers and sisters!” he shouted, “here 
we are a-kneelin’ at the altar’s foot and what’s goin’ 
on outside? Why, the Devil’s got his clutches in 
our midst. The horn of the wicked is exalted, 
They’re sellin’ rum — RUM — in this town ! They’re 
a-sellin’ rum and drinkin’ of it and gloryin’ in their 


CAFN ERI 


shame. But the Lord ain’t asleep! He’s got his 
eye on ’em I He’s watchin’ ’em ! And some of these 
fine days he’ll send down fire out of Heaven and 
wipe ’em off the face of the earth!” (“Amen! 
Glory! Glory! Glory! ”) 

John Baxter was on his feet, his lean face work- 
ing, the perspiration shining on his forehead, his eyes 
gleaming like lamps under his rough white eyebrows, 
and his clenched fists pounding the back of the chair 
in front of him. His hallelujahs were the last to 
cease. Captain Eri had to use some little force to 
pull him down on the sofa again. 

Then Mrs. Small struck up, “ Oh, brother, have 
you heard ? ” and they sang it with enthusiasm. 
Next, Miss Mullett told her story of the brandy 
and the defiance of the doctor. Nobody seemed 
much interested except a nervous young man with 
sandy hair and a celluloid collar, who had come 
with Mr. Tobias Wixon and was evidently a 
stranger. He had not heard it before and seemed 
somewhat puzzled when Miss Abigail repeated the 
“ Death referred to” passage. 

There was more singing. Mrs. Small “ testified.” 
So did Barzilla, with many hesitations and false 
starts and an air of relief when it was over. Then 
another hymn and more testimony, each speaker 


‘‘ COME-OUTERS’ ” MEETING 


49 


denouncing the billiard saloon. Then John Baxter 
arose and spoke. 

He began by saying that the people of Orham 
had been slothful in the Lord’s vineyard. They 
had allowed weeds to spring up and wax strong. 
They had been tried and found wanting. 

“ I tell you, brothers and sisters,” he declaimed, 
leaning over the chair back and shaking a thin fore- 
finger in Mr. Perley’s face, “ God has given us a task 
to do and how have we done it? We’ve set still and 
let the Devil have his way. We’ve talked and talked, 
but what have we done? Nothin’! Nothin’ at all; 
and now the grip of Satan is tighter on the town 
than it ever has been afore. The Lord set us a 
watch to keep and we’ve slept on watch. And now 
there’s a trap set for every young man in this 
c’munity. Do you think that that hell-hole down 
yonder is goin’ to shut up because we talk about it 
in meetin’? Do you think Web Saunders is goin’ to 
quit sellin’ rum because we say he ought to? Do 
you think God’s goin’ to walk up to that door and 
nail it up himself? No, sir! He don’t work that 
way! We’ve talked and talked, and now it’s time 
to do. Ain’t there anybody here that feels a call? 
Ain’t there axes to chop with and fire to burn ? I tell 
you, brothers, we’ve waited long enough! I — old 


50 


C4P’N ERI 


as I am — am ready. Lx)rd, here I am! Here I 


He swayed, broke into a fit of coughing, and sank 
back upon the sofa, trembling all over and still mut- 
tering that he was ready. There was a hushed 
silence for a moment or two, and then a storm of 
hallelujahs and shouts. Mr. Perley started another 
hymn, and it was sung with tremendous enthu- 
siasm. 

Just behind the nervous young man with the cellu- 
loid collar sat a stout individual with a bald head. 
This was Abijah Thompson, known by the irrever- 
ent as “ Barking ” Thompson, a nickname bestowed 
because of his peculiar habit of gradually puffing 
up, like a frog, under religious excitement, and then 
bursting forth in an inarticulate shout, disconcerting 
to the uninitiated. During Baxter’s speech and the 
singing of the hymn his expansive red cheeks had 
been distended like balloons, and his breath came 
shorter and shorter. Mr. Perley had arisen and was 
holding up his hand for silence, when with one ter- 
rific “ Boo ! ” “ Barking ” Thompson’s spiritual ex- 
altation exploded directly in the ear of the nervous 
stranger. 

The young man shot out of his chair as if Mr. 
Thompson had fired a dynamite charge beneath him. 


" COMB-OUTERS’ ” MEETING 


5 * 


“ Oh, the Devil ! ” he shrieked, and then subsided, 
blushing to the back of his neck. 

Somehow this interruption took the spirit out of 
the meeting. Giggles from Luther and the younger 
element interfered with the solemnity of Mr. Perley’s 
closing remarks, and no one else was brave enough 
to “ testify ” under the circumstances. They sang 
again, and the meeting broke up. The nervous 
young man was the first one to leave. 

Captain Eri got his friend out of the clutches of 
the “ Come-Outers ” as quickly as possible, and 
piloted him down the road toward his home. John 
Baxter was silent and absent-minded, and most of 
the Captain’s cheerful remarks concerning Orham 
affairs in general went unanswered. As they turned 
in at the gate the elder man said: 

“ Eri, do you believe that man’s law ought to be 
allowed to interfere with God’s law?” 

“ Well, John, in most cases it’s my jedgment that 
it pays to steer pretty close to both of ’em.” 

“ S’pose God called you to break man’s law and 
keep His ; what would you do ? ” 

“ Guess the fust thing would be to make sure 
’twas the Almighty that was callin’. I don’t want to 
say nothin’ to hurt your feelin’s, but I should advise 
the feller that thought that he had that kind of a 


52 


CAFN ERI 


call to ‘ beware of imitations,’ as the soap folks ad- 
vertise.” 

“ Eri, I’ve got a call.” 

“ Now, John Baxter, you listen. You and me have 
been sailin’ together, as you might say, for forty odd 
years. I ain’t a religious man ’cordin’ to your way 
of thinkin’, but I’ve generally found that the Lord 
runs things most as well as us folks could run ’em. 
When there’s a leak at one end of the schooner it 
don’t pay to bore a hole at the other end to let the 
water out. Don’t you worry no more about Web 
Saunders and that billiard saloon. The s’lectmen ’ll 
attend to them afore very long. Why don’t you go 
up to Boston for a couple of weeks? ’Twill do you 
good.” 

“ Do you think so, Eri? Well, maybe ’twould — 
maybe ’twould. Sometimes I feel as if my head was 
kind of wearin’ out. I’ll think about it.” 

“Better not think any more; better go right 
ahead.” 

“ Well, I’ll see. Good-night.” 

“ Good-night, John.” 

“ Ptrez,” said Captain Eri, next day, “ seems to 
me some kinds of religion is like whisky, mighty 
bad for a weak head. I wish somebody ’d invent a 
gold cure for Come-Outers.” 


CHAPTER IV 


A PICTURE SENT AND A CABLE TESTED 


OMETHING over a fortnight went 
# o ^ by and the three captains had received 
^ ^ no answers from the advertisement 

^ ^ in the Nuptial Chime. The sus- 

pense affected each of them in a 
different manner. Captain Jerry was nervous and 
apprehensive. He said nothing, and asked no ques- 
tions, but it was noticeable that he was the first to 
greet the carrier of the “ mail box ” when that in- 
dividual came down the road, and, as the days passed 
and nothing more important than the Cape Cod 
Item and a patent-medicine circular came to hand, 
a look that a suspicious person might have deemed 
expressive of hope began to appear in his face. 

Captain Perez, on the contrary, grew more and 
more disgusted with the delay. He spent a good 
deal of time wondering why there were no replies, 
and he even went so far as to suggest writing to the 


54 


CAP’N ERI 


editor of the Chime. He was disposed to lay 
the blame upon Captain Eri’s advertisement, and 
hinted that the latter was not “ catchy ” enough. 

Captain Eri, alone of the trio, got any amusement 
out of the situation. He pretended to see in Cap- 
tain Jerry an impatient bridegroom and adminis- 
tered comfort in large doses by suggesting that, in 
all probability, there had been so many replies that 
it had been found necessary to charter a freight-car 
to bring them down. 

“ Cheer up, Jerry ! ” he said. “ It’s tough on 
you, I know, but think of all them poor sufferin’ 
females that’s settin’ up nights and worryin’ for fear 
they won’t be picked out. Why, say, when you make 
your ch’ice you’ll have to let the rest know right off ; 
’twould be cruelty to animals not to. You ought to 
put ’em out of their misery quick’s possible.” 

Captain Jerry’s laugh was almost dismal. 

The first batch of answers from the Chime 
came by an evening mail. Captain Eri happened to 
be at the post-office that night and brought them 
home himself. They filled three of his pockets to 
overflowing, and he dumped them by handfuls 
on the dining table, under the nose of the pallid 
Jerry. 

“ What did I tell you, Jerry ? ” he crowed. “ I 


A PICTURE SENT 


55 


knew they was on the way. What have you got to 
say about my advertisement now, Perez ? ” 

There were twenty-six letters altogether. It was 
surprising how many women were willing, even 
anxious, to ally themselves with “ an ex-seafaring 
man of steady babbits.” But most of the applicants 
were of unsatisfactory types. As Captain Perez ex- 
pressed it, “ There’s too many of them everlastin’ 
‘ blondes ’ and things.” 

There was one note, however, that even Captain 
Eri was disposed to consider seriously. It was post- 
marked Nantucket, was written on half a sheet of 
blue-lined paper, and read as follows: 

” Mr. Skipper : 

Sir: I saw your advertisement* in the paper and 
think perhaps you might suit me. Please answer these 
questions by return mail. What is your religious 
belief? Do you drink liquor? Are you a profane 
man? If you want to, you might send me your real 
name and a photograph. If I think you will suit 
maybe we might sign articles. 

“ Yours truly, 

“ Martha B. Snow. 

“Nantucket, Mass." 

“ What I like about that is the shipshape way she 


56 


CAFN ERI 


puts it,” commented Captain Perez. “ She don’t 
say that she ‘ jest adores the ocean,’ ” 

“ She’s mighty handy about takin’ hold and 
bossin’ things; there ain’t no doubt of that,” said 
Captain Eri. “ Notice it’s us that’s got to suit her, 
not her us. I kind of like that ‘ signin’ articles,’ 
too. You bet she’s been brought up in a seagoin’ 
family.” 

“ I used to know a Jubal Snow that hailed from 
Nantucket,” suggested Perez; “maybe she’s some 
of his folks.” 

“ ’Tain’t likely,” sniffed Captain Jerry. “ There’s 
more Snows in Nantucket than you can shake a 
stick at. You can’t heave a rock without hittin’ 
one.” 

“ I b’lieve she’s jest the kind we want,” said Cap- 
tain Perez with conviction. 

“What do you say, Jerry?” asked Captain Eri. 
“ You’re goin’ to be the lucky man, you know.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know. What’s the use of hurryin’? 
More ’n likely the next lot of letters ’ll have some- 
thin’ better yit.” 

“ Now, that’s jest like you, Jerry Burgess ! ” ex- 
claimed Perez disgustedly. “ Want to put off and 
put off and put off. And the house gittin’ more like 
the fo’castle on a cattleboat every day.” 


A PICTURE SENT 


57 


“ I don’t b’lieve myself you’d do much better, 
Jerry,” said Captain Eri seriously. “ I like that 
letter somehow. Seems to me it’s worth a try.” 

“Oh, all right! Have it your own way. Of 
course, I ain’t got nothin’ to say. I’m only the divil- 
ish fool that’s got to git married and keep boarders ; 
that’s all / am ! ” 

“ Be careful ! She asked if you was a profane 
man.” 

“ Aw, shut up ! You fellers are enough to make 
a minister swear. / don’t care what you do. Go 
ahead and write to her if you want to, only I give 
you fair warnin’, I ain’t goin’ to have her if she don’t 
suit. I ain’t goin’ to marry no scarecrow.” 

Between them, and with much diplomacy, they 
soothed the indignant candidate for matrimony until 
he agreed to sign his name to a letter to the Nan- 
tucket lady. Then Captain Perez said: 

“ But, I say, Jerry; she wants your picture. Have 
you got one to send her? ” 

“ I’ve got that daguerreotype I had took when I 
was married afore.” 

He rummaged it out of his chest and displayed it 
rather proudly. It showed him as a short, sandy- 
haired youth, whose sunburned face beamed from 
the depths of an enormous choker, and whose head 


58 


CAFN ERI 


was crowned with a tall, flat-brimmed silk hat of a 
forgotten style. 

“ I s’pose that might do,” said Cap’n Perez hesi- 
tatingly. 

” Do! ’Twill have to do, seein’ it’s all he’s got,” 
said Captain Eri. “Good land!” he chuckled; 
“ look at that hat ! Say, Jerry, she’ll think you done 
your seafarin’ in Noah’s ark.” 

But Captain Jerry was oblivious to sarcasm just 
then. He was gazing at the daguerreotype in a senti- 
mental sort of way, blowing the dust from the glass, 
and tilting it up and down so as to bring it to the 
most effective light. 

“ I swan ! ” he mused, “ I don’t know when I’ve 
looked at that afore. I remember when I bought 
that hat, jest as well. Took care of it and brushed 
it — ^my! my! I don’t know but it’s somewheres 
around now. I thought I was jest about the ticket 
then, and — and I wa’n’t bad lookin’, that’s a fact ! ” 

This last with a burst of enthusiasm. 

“Ho, ho! Perez,” roared Captain Eri; “Jerry’s 
failin’ in love with his own picture. Awful thing 
for one so young, ain’t it? ” 

“ I ain’t such a turrible sight older ’n you be, Eri 
Hedg«,” sputtered the prospective bridegroom with 
righteous indignation. Then he added in a rather 


A PICTURE SENT 


59 


crestfallen tone, “ But I am a heap older ’n I was 
when I had that daguerreotype took. See here; if 
I send that Nantucket woman this picture won’t she 
notice the difference when she sees me? ” 

“What if she does?” broke in Captain Perez. 
“ You can tell her how ’twas. Talk her over. A 
feller that’s been married, like you, ought to be able 
to talk any woman over.” 

Captain Jerry didn’t appear sanguine concerning 
his ability to “ talk her over,” but his fellow-con- 
spirators made light of his feeble objections, and the 
daguerreotype, carefully wrapped, was mailed the 
next morning, accompanied by a brief biographical 
sketch of the original and his avowed adherence to 
the Baptist creed and the Good Templar’s absti- 
nence. 

“ I hope she’ll hurry up and answer,” said the im- 
patient Captain Perez. “ I want to get this thing 
settled one way or another. Don’t you, Jerry? ” 

“ Yes,” was the hesitating reply. “ One way or 
another.” 

Captain Eri had seen John Baxter several times 
since the evening of the “ Come-Outers’ ” meeting. 
The old man was calmer apparently, and was dis- 
posed to take the billiard-saloon matter less seri- 
ously, particularly as it was reported that the town 


6o 


CAFN ERI 


selectmen were to hold a special meeting to consider 
the question of allowing Mr. Saunders to continue 
in business. The last-named gentleman had given 
what he was pleased to call a “ blow-out ” to his regu- 
lar patrons in celebration of the granting of the 
license, and “ Squealer ” Wixon and one or two more 
spent a dreary day and night in the town lock-up in 
consequence. Baxter told the Captain that he had 
not yet made up his mind concerning the proposed 
Boston trip, but he thought “ more ’n likely ” he 
should go. 

Captain Eri was obliged to be content with this 
assurance, but he determined to keep a close watch 
on his friend just the same. 

He had met Ralph Hazeltine once or twice since 
the latter’s arrival in Orham, and, in response to ques- 
tions as to how he was getting on at the station, the 
new electrician invariably responded, “ First-rate.” 
Gossip, however, in the person of Miss Busteed, re- 
ported that the operators were doing their best to 
keep Mr. Hazeltine’s lot from being altogether a 
bed of roses, and there were dark hints of something 
more to come. 

On the morning following the receipt of the letter 
from the Nantucket lady. Captain Eri was busy 
at his fish shanty, putting his lines in order and sew- 


A CABLE TESTED 


65 


“ Pretty nigh as finicky as a watch, ain’t it? ” he 
observed. 

“ Fully as delicate in its way. Do you see this 
little screw on the centerpiece ? Turn that a little, one 
way or the other, and the operator on the other side 
might send until doomsday, we wouldn’t know it. 
I’ll show you the living rooms and the laboratory 
now.” 

Just then the door at the other end of the room 
opened, and a man, whom Captain Eri recognized as 
one of the operators, came in. He started when he 
saw Hazeltine and turned to go out again. Ralph 
spoke to him : 

“ Peters,” he said, “ where is Mr. Langley? ” 

“ Don’t know,” answered the fellow gruffly. 

“ Wait a minute. Tell me where Mr. Langley 
is.” 

“ I don’t know where he is. He went over to the 
village a while ago.” 

“ Where are the rest of the men? ” 

“ Don’t know.” 

The impudence and thinly veiled hostility in the 
man’s tone were unmistakable. Hazeltine hesitated, 
seemed about to speak, and then silently led the way 
to the hall. 

I’ll show you the laboratory later on,” he said. 


66 


CAFN ERI 


“ We’ll go up to the testing room now.” Then he 
added, apparently as much to himself as to his visitor, 
“ I told those fellows that I wouldn’t be back until 
noon.” 

There was a door at the top of the stairs. Ralph 
opened this quietly. As they passed through. Cap- 
tain Eri noticed that Peters had followed them into 
the hall and stood there, looking up. 

The upper hall had a straw matting on the floor. 
There was another door at the end of the passage, 
and this was ajar. Toward it the electrician walked 
rapidly. From the room behind the door came a 
shout of laughter; then someone said: 

“ Better give it another turn, hadn’t I, to make 
sure? two turns fixes it so we don’t hear for a 
couple of hours, another one ought to shut it up for 
a week. That’s arithmetic, ain’t it ? ” 

The laugh that followed this was cut short by 
Hazeltine’s throwing the door wide open. 

Captain Eri, close at the electrician’s heels, saw a 
long room, empty save for a few chairs and a table 
in the center. Upon this table stood the testing in- 
struments, exactly like those in the receiving room 
downstairs. Three men lounged in the chairs, and 
standing beside the table, with his fingers upon the 
regulating screw at the centerpiece of the recorder, 


A CABLE TESTED 


67 


was another, a big fellow, with a round, smooth- 
shaven face. 

The men in the chairs sprang to their feet as Ha- 
zeltine came in. The face of the individual by the 
table turned white and his fingers fell from the regu- 
lating screw, as though the latter were red hot. The 
Captain recognized the men; they were day operator? 
whom he had met in the village many times. Inci- 
dentally, they were avowed friends of the former 
electrician, Parker. The name of the taller one was 
McLoughlin. 

No one spoke. Ralph strode quickly to the table, 
pushed McLoughlin to one side and stooped over the 
instruments. When he straightened up, Cs^tain Eri 
noticed that his face also was white, but evidently not 
from fear. He turned sharply and looked at the 
four operators, who were doing their best to appear 
at ease and not succeeding. The electrician looked 
them over, one by one. Then he gave a short 
laugh. 

“ You damned sneaks! ” he said, and turned again 
to the testing apparatus. 

He began slowly to turn the regulating screw on 
the recorder. He had given it but a few revolutions 
when the point of the little glass siphon, that had 
been tracing a straight black line on the sliding tape, 


68 


CAP’N ERI 


moved up and down in curving zigzags. Hazeltine 
turned to the operator. 

“ Palmer,” he said curtly, “ answer that call.” 

The man addressed seated himself at the table, 
turned a switch, and clicked off a message. After a 
moment the line on the moving tape zigzagged again. 
Ralph glanced at the zigzags and bit his lip. 

“ Apologize, to them,” he said to Palmer. “Tell 
them we regret exceedingly that the ship should have 
been kept waiting. Tell them our recorder was out 
of adjustment.” 

The operator cabled the message. The three men 
at the end of the room glanced at each other; this 
evidently was not what they expected. 

Steps sounded on the stairs and Peters hurriedly 
entered. 

“ The old man’s cornin’,” he said. 

Mr. Langley, the superintendent of the station, 
had been in the company’s employ for years. He 
had been in charge of the Cape Cod station since it 
was built, and he liked the job. He knew cable 
work, too, from A to Z, and, though he was a strict 
disciplinarian, would forgive a man’s getting drunk 
occasionally, sooner than condone carelessness. He 
was eccentric, but even those who did not like him 
acknowledged that he was “ square.” 


A CABLE TESTED 


69 


He came into the room, tossed a cigar stump out 
of the window, and nodded to Captain Eri. 

“ How are you. Captain Hedge? ” he said. Then, 
stepping to the table, he picked up the tape. 

“Everything all right, Mr. Hazeltine?” he 
asked. “ Hello! What does this mean? They say 
they have been calling for two hours without getting 
an answer. How do you explain that? ” 

It was very quiet in the room when the electrician 
answered. 

“ The recorder here was out of adjustment, sir,” 
he said simply. 

“ Out of adjustment ! I thought you told me 
everything was in perfect order before you left this 
morning.” 

“ I thought so, sir, but I find the screw was too 
loose. That would account for the call not reaching 
us.” 

“Too loose! Humph!” The superintendent 
looked steadfastly at Hazeltine, then at the operators, 
and then at the electrician once more. 

“ Mr. Hazeltine,” he said at length, “ I will hear 
what explanations you may have to make in my office 
later on. I will attend to the testing myself. That 
will do.” 

Captain Eri silently followed his young friend to 


70 


CAFN ERl 


the back door of the station. Hazeltine had seen 
fit to make no comment on the scene just described, 
and the captain did not feel like offering any. They 
were standing on the steps when the big operator, 
McLoughlin, came out of the building behind them. 

“ Well,” he said gruffly to the electrician. “ Shall 
I quit now or wait until Saturday? ” 

“ What?” 

“ Shall I git out now or wait till Saturday night? 
I suppose you’ll have me fired.” 

Then Hazeltine’s pent-up rage boiled over. 

“If you mean that I’ll tell Mr. Langley of your 
cowardly trick and have you discharged — No! I 
don’t pay my debts that way. But I’ll tell you this, 
— ^you and your sneaking friends. If you try another 
game like that, — ^yes, or if you so much as speak to 
me, other than on business while I’m here, I will 
fire you — out of the window. Clear out ! ” 

“ Mr. Hazeltine,” said Captain Eri a few mo- 
ments later, “ I hope you don’t mind my sayin’ that 
I like you fust-rate. Me and Perez and Jerry ain’t 
the biggest bugs in town, but we like to have our 
friends come and see us. I wish you’d drop in once ’n 
a while.” 

“ I certainly will,” said the young man, and the 
two shook hands. That vigorous handshake was 


A CABLE TESTED 


71 


enough of itself to convince Ralph Hazeltine that he 
had made, at any rate, one friend in Orham. 

And we may as well add here that he had made 
two. For that evening Jack McLoughlin said to his 
fellow conspirators: 

“ He said he’d fire me out of the window, — me, 
mind you! And, by thunder! I believe he’d have 
done it too. Boys, there ain’t any more ‘ con ’ 
games played on that kid while I’m around — Parker 
or no Parker. He’s white, that’s what he is 1 ” 


CHAPTER V 


THE WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 


# 


c 


^###^ONVERSATION among the cap- 
tains was, for the next two days, 
confined to two topics, speculation as 
to how soon they might expect a 
reply from the Nantucket female and 
whether or not Mr. Langley would discharge Hazel- 
tine. On the latter point Captain Eri was decided. 

“ He won’t be bounced,” said the Captain; “ now 
you just put that down in your log. Langley ain’t a 
fool, and he can put two and two together as well 
as the next feller. If I thought there was any need 
of it. I’d just drop him a hint myself, but there ain’t, 
so I shan’t put my oar in. But I wish you two could 
have heard that youngster talk to that McLoughlin 
critter; ’twould have done you good. That boy’s all 
right.” 

Captain Jerry was alone when the expected letter 
came. He glanced at the postmark, saw that it was 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 


73 


Nantucket, and stuck the note behind the clock. He 
did his best to forget it, but he looked so guilty when 
Captain Perez returned at supper time that that indi- 
vidual suspected something, made his friend confess, 
and, a little later when Captain Eri came in, the en- 
velope, bearing many thumb-prints, was propped up 
against the sugar bowl in the middle of the table. 

“We didn’t open it, Eri,” said Perez proudly. 
“We did want to, but we thought all hands ought 
to be on deck when anything as important as this 
was goin’ to be done.” 

“ He’s been holdin’ it up to the light for the last 
ha’f hour,” sneered Captain Jerry. “ Anybody ’d 
think it had a million dollars in it. For the land’s 
sake, open it, Eri, ’fore he has a fit! ” 

Captain Eri picked up the letter, looked it over 
very deliberately, and then tore off the end of the 
envelope. The inclosure was another sheet of note 
paper like the first epistle. The Captain took out 
his spectacles, wiped them, and read the following 
aloud : 

“ Captain Jeremiah Burgess. 

“Sir: I like your looks well enough, though it 
don’t pay to put too much dependence in looks, as 
nobody knows better than me. Besides, I judge that 


74 


CAP’N ERI 


picture was took quite a spell ago. Anyway, you 
look honest, and I am willing to risk money enough 
to carry me to Orham and back, though the dear 
land knows I ain’t got none to throw away. If we 
don’t agree to sign articles, I suppose likely you will 
be willing to stand half the fare. That ain’t any 
mor*^ than right, the way I look at it. I shall come 
to Orham on the afternoon train, Thursday. Meet 
me at the depot. 

“ Yours truly, 

“ Martha B. Snow. 

“ P. S. — I should have liked it better if you was 
a Methodist, but we can’t have everything just as 
we want it in this world.” 

Nobody spoke for a moment after the reading 
of this intensely practical note. Captain Eri 
whistled softly, scratched his head, and then read 
the letter over again to himself. At length Captain 
Perez broke the spell. 

“ Jerusalem I ” he exclaimed. “ She don’t lose 
no time, does she ? ” 

“ She’s pretty prompt, that’s a fact,” assented 
Captain Eri. 

Captain Jerry burst forth in indignation: 

“ Is that all you’ve got to say? ” he inquired with 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 75 


sarcasm, “after gittin’ me into a scrape like this? 
Well now, I tell you one thing, I ” 

“ Don’t go on your beam ends, Jerry,” interrupted 
Captain Eri. “ There ain’t no harm done yit.” 

“ Ain’t no harm done ? Why how you talk, Eri 
Hedge ! Here’s a woman that I ain’t never seen, and 
might be a hundred years old, for all I know, cornin’ 
down here to-morrow night to marry me by main 
force, as you might say, and you set here and talk 
about ” 

“ Now, hold on, hold on, Jerry ! She ain’t goin’ to 
marry you unless you want her to, ’tain’t likely. 
More I think of it, the more I like the woman’s 
way of doin’ things. She’s got sense, there’s no doubt 
of that. You can’t sell her a cat in a bag. She’s 
cornin’ down here to see you and talk the thing over, 
and I glory in her spunk.” 

“ Wants me to pay her fare! I see myself doin’ 
it! I’ve got ways enough to spend my money with- 
out paying fares for Nantucket folks.” 

“ If you and she sign articles, as she calls it, you’ll 
have to pay more than fares,” said Captain Perez, in 
a matter-of-fact tone. “ I think same as Eri does; 
she’s a smart woman. We’ll have to meet her at the 
depot, of course.” 

“Well / won’t! Cheeky thing! Let her find 


76 


CAFN ERI 


out where I ami I cal’late she’ll have to do some 
huntin’.” 

“ Now, see here, Jerry,” said Captain Eri, “ you 
was jest as anxious to have one of us get married as 
anybody else. You haven’t got to marry the woman 
unless you want to, but you have got to help us see the 
thing through. I wish myself that we hadn’t been 
quite so pesky anxious to give her the latitude and 
longitude, and had took some sort of an observation 
ourselves; but we didn’t, and now we’ve got to treat 
her decent. You’ll be at that depot along with Perez 
and me.” 

When Captain Eri spoke in that tone his two 
cronies usually obeyed orders. Even the rebellious 
Jerry, who had a profound respect for his younger 
friend, gave in after some grumbling. 

They sat up until late, speculating concerning the 
probable age and appearance of the expected visitor. 
Captain Perez announced that he didn’t know why 
it was, but he had a notion that she was about forty 
and slim. Captain Jerry, who was in a frame of 
mind where agreement with anyone was out of the 
question, gave it as his opinion that she was thirty 
odd and rather plump. Captain Eri didn’t hazard a 
guess, but suggested that they wait and see. 

But even Captain Eri’s calmness was more or less 


ff^OMAN FROM NANTUCKET 77 


assumed, for he did not go fishing the next morning, 
but stayed about the house, whittling at the model of 
a clipper ship and tormenting Captain Jerry. The 
model was one that he had been at work upon at odd 
times ever since he gave up sea-going. It had never 
been completed for the very good reason that when 
one part was finished the Captain tore another part 
to pieces, and began over again. It was a sort of 
barometer of his feelings, and when his companions 
saw him take down the clipper and go to work, they 
knew he was either thinking deeply upon a perplexing 
problem or was troubled in his mind. 

Captain Perez sang a good deal, principally con- 
fining his musical efforts to a ballad with a chorus of, 

“ Storm along, John; 

John, storm along; 

Ain’t I glad my day’s work’s done! ” 

Also, he glanced at his watch every few minutes and 
then went to consult the chronometer to make sure of 
the time. 

Captain Jerry went up to the schoolhouse and 
gave its vacant rooms a thorough sweeping for no 
particular reason except to be doing something. His 
appetite was poor, and he actually forgot to feed Lo- 
renzo, a hitherto unheard-of slight, and one that 
brought down upon him a long lecture from Captain 


78 


CAP’N ERI 


Eri, who vowed that loss of memory was a sure sign 
of lovesickness. 

They started for the railway station immediately 
after supper. As they passed John Baxter’s house 
they noticed a light in an upper chamber, and won- 
dered if the old man was ill. Captain Eri would have 
stopped to find out, but Captain Perez insisted that 
it could be done just as well when they came back, 
and expressed a fear that they might miss the train. 
Captain Jerry hadn’t spoken since they left home, 
and walked gloomily ahead with his hands in his 
pockets. 

Mr. “ Web ” Saunders, fat and in his pink-striped 
shirtsleeves, sat upon the steps of his saloon as they 
went by. He wished them an unctuous good-evening. 
The oily smoothness of Mr. Saunders’ voice cannot 
be described with plain pen and ink; it gurgled with 
sweetness, like molasses poured from a jug. This 
was not a special tone put on for the occasion; no one 
except his wife ever heard him speak otherwise. 

The response from the three captains was not en- 
thusiastic, but Mr. Saunders continued to talk of the 
weather, the fishing, and the cranberry crop until a 
customer came and gave them a chance to get away. 

“ Slick ! slick ! slick ! ” commented Captain Eri, as 
they hurried along. “ Blessed if he don’t pretty nigh 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 


79 


purr. I like a cat fust-rate, but I’m always suspicious 
of a cat-man. You know he’s got claws, but you 
can’t tell where he’s goin’ to use ’em. When a feller 
like that comes slidin’ around and rubbin’ his head 
against my shin, I always feel like keepin’ t’other 
foot ready for a kick. You’re pretty sartin to need 
it one time or another.” 

The train was nearly an hour late this evening, 
owing to a hot box, and the “ ex-seafaring man ” and 
his two friends peered anxiously out at it from around 
the corner of the station. The one coach stopped 
directly under the lights, and they could see the pas- 
sengers as they came down the steps. Two or three 
got out, but these were men. Then came an appari- 
tion that caused Captain Jerry to gasp and clutch at 
Perez for support. 

Down the steps of the car came a tall, coal-black 
negress, and in her hand was a canvas extension case, 
on the side of which was blazoned in two-inch letters 
the fateful name, “ M. B. Snow, Nantucket.” 

Captain Eri gazed at this astounding spectacle for 
a full thirty seconds. Then he woke up. 

“Godfrey domino!” he ejaculated. Black! 
Black! Run1 Run for your lives, ’fore she sees 
us!” 

This order was superfluous. Captain Jerry was 


8o 


CAFN ERI 


already half-way to the fence, and going at a rate 
which bid fair to establish a record for his age. The 
others fell into his wake, and the procession moved 
across country like a steeplechase. 

They climbed over stone walls and splashed into 
meadows. They took every short cut between the 
station and their home. As they came in sight of the 
latter. Captain Perez’ breath gave out almost en- 
tirely. 

“ Heave to ! ” he gasped. “ Heave to, or I’ll 
founder. I wouldn’t run another step for all the 
darkies in the West Indies.” 

Captain Eri paused, but it was only after a strug- 
gle that Captain Jerry was persuaded to halt. 

“ I shan’t do it, Eri ! ” he vowed wildly. “ I 
shan’t do it ! There ain’t no use askin’ me ; I won’t 
marry that black woman ! I won’t, by thunder ! ” 

‘''There! there! Jerry!” said Captain Eri sooth- 
ingly. “ Nobody wants you to. There ain’t no danger 
now. She didn’t see us.” 

“ Ain’t no danger ! There you go again, Eri 
Hedge ! She’ll ask where I live and come right down 
in the depot wagon. Oh ! Lordy ! Lordy ! ” 

The frantic sacrifice was about to bound away 
again, when Captain Eri caught him by the arm. 

“ I’ll tell you what,” he said, ” we’ll scoot for 


PFOMJN FROM NANTUCKET 8i 


Eldredge’s shanty and hide there till she gits tired 
and goes away. P’raps she won’t come, anyhow.” 

The deserted fish shanty, property of the heirs of 
the late Nathaniel Eldredge, was situated in a hollow 
close to the house. In a few moments the three were 
inside, with a sawhorse against the door. Then Cap- 
tain Eri pantingly sat down on an overturned bucket 
and laughed until the tears came into his eyes. 

“ That’s it, laff ! ” almost sobbed Captain Jerry. 
“ Set there and tee-hee like a Bedlamite. It’s what 
you might expect. Wait till the rest of the town finds 
out ahout this; they’ll do the laffin’ then, and you 
won’t feel so funny. We’ll never hear the last of it in 
this world. If that darky comes down here. I’ll — I’ll 
drown her ; I will ” 

“ I don’t blame Jerry,” said Perez indignantly. “ I 
don’t see much to laff at. Oh, my soul and body! 
there she comes now.” 

They heard the rattle of a heavy carriage, and, 
crowding together at the cobwebbed window, saw 
the black shape of the “ depot wagon ” rock past. 
They waited, breathless, until they saw it go back 
again up the road. 

“ Did you lock the dining-room door, Perez ? ” 
asked Captain Eri. 

“ Course I didn’t. Why should I? ” 


82 


CAFN ERI 


It was a rather senseless question. Nobody locks 
doors in Orham except at bedtime. 

“ Humph ! ” grunted Captain Eri. “ She’ll see the 
light in the dining room, and go inside and wait, 
more ’n likely. Well, there’s nothin’ for us to do but 
to stay here for a while, and then, if she ain’t gone, 
one of us ’ll have to go up and tell her she won’t suit 
and pay her fare home, that’s all. I think Jerry 
ought to be the one,” he added mischievously. “ He 
bein’ the bridegroom, as you might say.” 

“ Me I ” almost shouted the frantic Captain Jerry. 
“ You go to grass ! You fellers got me into this 
scrape, and now let’s see you git me out of it. I 
don’t stir one step.” 

They sat there in darkness, the silence unbroken, 
save for an occasional chuckle from the provoking 
Eri. Perez, however, was meditating, and observed, 
after a while: 

“ Snow ! That’s a queer name for a darky, ain’t 
it?” 

“ That colored man up at Barry’s place was named 
White,” said Captain Jerry, “ and he was black as 
your hat. Names don’t count.” 

“ They say colored folks make good cooks, Jerry,” 
slyly remarked Eri. “ Maybe you’d better think it 

>5 


over. 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 83 


The unlucky victim of chance did not deign an 
answer, and the minutes crept slowly by. After a 
long while they heard someone whistling. Perez 
went to the window to take an observation. 

“ It’s a man,” he said disappointedly. “ He’s 
been to our house, too. My land ! I hope he didn’t 
go in. It’s that feller Hazeltine ; that’s who ’tis.” 

“ Is it? ” exclaimed Eri eagerly. “ That’s so! so 
’tis. Let’s give him a hail.” 

Before he could be stopped he had pulled the saw- 
horse from the door, had opened the latter a little 
way, and, with his face at the opening, was whistling 
shrilly. 

The electrician looked up and down the dark road 
in a puzzled sort of way, but evidently could not 
make up his mind from what quarter the whistles 
came. 

“ Mr. Hazeltine ! ” hailed the Captain, in what 
might be called a whispered yell or a shouted whisper. 
“ Mr. Hazeltine ! Here, on your lee bow. In the 
shanty.” 

The word “ shanty ” was the only part of the 
speech that brought light to Ralph’s mind, but that 
was sufficient; he came down the hill, left the road, 
and plunged through the blackberry vines to the 
door. 


84 


CAFN ERI 


“ Who is it? ” he asked. “ Why, hello, Captain! 
What on earth ” 

Captain Eri signaled him to silence, and then, 
catching his arm, pulled him into the shanty and shut 
the door. Captain Jerry hastened to set the saw- 
horse in place again. 

“ Mr. Hazeltine,” said Captain Eri, “ let me make 
you acquainted with Cap’n Perez and Cap’n Jerry, 
shipmates of mine. You’ve heard me speak of 
em. 

Ralph, in the darkness, shook two big hands and 
heard whispered voices express themselves as glad 
to know him. 

“ You see,” continued Eri in a somewhat embar- 
rassed fashion, “ we’re sort of layin’ to, as yer might 
say, waitin’ to git our bearin’s. We ain’t out of our 
heads; I tell you that, ’cause I know that’s what it 
looks like.” 

The bewildered Hazeltine laughed and said he was 
glad to hear it. To tell the truth, he had begun to 
think that something or other had suddenly driven his 
nearest neighbors crazy. 

“ I — I — I don’t know how to explain it to you,” 
the Captain stumbled on. “ Fact is, I guess I won’t 
jest yit, if you don’t mind. It does sound so pesky 
ridic’lous, although it ain’t, when you understand it. 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 85 


What we want to know is, have you been to our house 
and is there anybody there? ” 

“ Why, yes. I’ve been there. I rowed over and 
dropped in for a minute, as you suggested the other 
day. The housekeeper — I suppose it was the house- 
keeper — that opened the door, said you were out, 
and I ” 

He was interrupted by a hopeless groan. 

“ I knew it! ” wailed Captain Jerry. “ I knew it! 
And you said there wa’n’t no danger, Eri ! ” 

“ Hush up, Jerry, a minute, for the love of good- 
ness! What was she doin’, Mr. Hazeltine, this 
woman you thought was the housekeeper? Did she 
look as if she was gettin’ ready to go out? Did she 
have her bunnit on? ” 

“ No. She seemed to be very much at home. 
That’s why I thought ” 

But again Captain Jerry broke in, “ Well, by 
mighty!” he ejaculated. “That’s nice, now, ain't 
it ! She goin’ away ! You bet she ain’t ! She’s goin’ 
to stay there and wait, if it’s forever. She’s got too 
good a thing. Jest as like ’s not, M’lissy Busteed, or 
some other gab machine like her, ’ll be the next one to 
call, and if they see that great black critter ! Oh ! my 
soul!” 

“Black!” said Ralph amazedly. “Why, the 


86 


CAFN ERI 


woman at your house isn’t black. She’s as white as 
I am, and not bad-looking for a woman of her age.” 

“ fVhat? ” This was the trio in chorus. Then 
Captain Eri said: 

“ Mr. Hazeltine, now, honest and true, is that a 
fact?” 

“ Of course it’s a fact.” 

The Captain wiped his forehead. “ Mr. Hazel- 
tine,” he said, “ if anybody had told me a fortn’t ago 
that I was one of the three biggest fools in Orham, 
I’d have prob’ly rared up some. As ’tis now, I 
cal’late I’d thank him for lettin’ me off so easy. 
You’ll have to excuse us to-night, I’m afraid. We’re 
in a ridic’lous scrape that we’ve got to git out of all 
alone. I’ll tell you ’bout it some day. Jest now I 
wish you’d keep this kind of quiet to oblige me.” 

Hazeltine saw that this was meant as a gentle 
hint for his immediate departure, and although he 
had a fair share of curiosity, felt there was nothing 
else to do. He promised secrecy, promised faith- 
fully to call again later in the week, and then, the 
sawhorse having been removed by Captain Perez, — 
Captain Jerry was apparently suffering from a sort 
of dazed paralysis, — he went away. As soon as he 
had gone. Captain Eri began to lay down the law. 

“ Now then,” he said, “ there’s been some sort of 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 87 


a mistake; that’s plain enough. More ’n likely, the 
darky took the wrong satchel when she got up to 
come out of the car. That woman at the house is the 
real Marthy Snow all right, and we’ve got to gc 
right up there and see her. Come on ! ” 

But Captain Jerry mutinied outright. He de- 
clared that the sight of that darky had sickened him 
of marrying forever, and that he would not see the 
candidate from Nantucket, nor any other candidate. 
No persuasion could budge him. He simply would 
not stir from that shanty until the house had been 
cleared of female visitors. 

“ Go and see her yourself, if you’re so set on it,” he 
declared. “ I shan’t! ” 

“ All right,” said Captain Eri calmly. “ I will. 
I’ll tell her you’re bashful, but jest dyin’ to be mar- 
ried, and that she can have you if she only waits long 
enough.” 

With this he turned on his heel and walked out. 

“ Hold on, Eri I ” shouted the frantic Jerry. 
“ Don’t you do it I Don’t you tell her that 1 Land of 
love, Perez, do you s’pose he will?” 

“ I don’t know,” was the answer in a disgusted tone. 
“ You hadn’t ought to have been so pig-headed, 
Jerry.” 

Captain Eri, with set teeth and determination writ- 


88 


CAP’N ERI 


ten on his face, walked straight to the dining-room 
door. Drawing a long breath, he opened it and 
stepped inside. A woman, who had been sitting in 
Captain Perez’ rocker, rose as he entered. 

The woman looked at the Captain and the Cap- 
tain looked at her. She was of middle age, inclined 
to stoutness, with a pair of keen eyes behind brass- 
rimmed spectacles, and was dressed in a black “ al- 
paca ” gown that was faded a little in places and had 
been neatly mended in others. She spoke first. 

“ You’re not Cap’n Burgess? ” she said. 

“ No, ma’am,” said the Captain uneasily. “ My 
name is Hedge. I’m a sort of messmate of his. 
You’re Miss Snow?” 

“ Mrs. Snow. I’m a widow.” 

They shook hands. Mrs. Snow calmly expectant; 
the Captain very nervous and not knowing how to 
begin. 

“ I feel as if I knew you, Cap’n Hedge,” said the 
widow, as the Captain slid into his own rocker. “ The 
boy on the depot wagon told me a lot about you and 
Cap’n Ryder and Cap’n Burgess.” 

“ Did, hey? ” The Captain inwardly vowed ven- 
geance on his chum’s grandnephew. ” Hope he 
gave us a clean bill.” 

“ Well, he didn’t say nothin’ against you, if that’s 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 89 


what you mean. If he had, I don't think it would 
have made much diff’rence. I’ve lived long enough 
to want to find out things for myself, and not take 
folks’ say-so.” 

The lady seeming to expect some sort of answer to 
this statement. Captain Eri expressed his opinion that 
the plan of finding out things for one’s self was a 
good “ idee.” Then, after another fidgety silence, 
he observed that it was a fine evening. There being 
no dispute on this point, he endeavored to think of 
something else to say. Mrs. Snow, however, saved 
him the trouble. 

“ Cap’n Hedge,” she said, “ as I’m here on what 
you might call a bus’ness errand, and as I’ve been 
waitin’ pretty nigh two hours already, p’raps we’d 
better talk about somethin’ besides fine evenin’s. I’ve 
got to be lookin’ up a hotel or boardin’ house or 
somewheres to stay to-night, and I can’t wait much 
longer. I jedge you got my letter and was expectin’ 
me. Now, if it ain’t askin’ too much. I’d like to 
know where Cap’n Burgess is, and why he wa’n’t at 
the depot to meet me.” 

This was a leading question, and the Captain was 
more embarrassed than ever. However, he felt that 
something had to be done and that it was wisest to 
get it over with as soon as possible. 


90 


CAFN ERl 


“ Well, ma’am,” he said, “ we — we got your let- 
ter all right, and, to tell you the truth, we was at the 
depot — Perez and me and Jerry.” 

“ You was! Well, then, for the land of goodness, 
why didn’t you let me know it ? Such a time as I had 
try in’ to find out where you lived and all ! ” 

The Captain saw but one plausible explanation, 
and that was the plain truth. Slowly he told the 
story of the colored woman and the extension case. 
The widow laughed until her spectacles fell off. 

“ Well, there ! ” she exclaimed. “ If that don’t 
beat all ! I don’t blame Cap’n Burgess a mite. Poor 
thing! I guess I’d have run, too, if I’d have seen 
that darky. She was settin’ right in the next seat to 
me, and she had a shut-over bag consid’rable like 
mine, and when she got up to git out, she took mine 
by mistake. I was a good deal put out about it, and 
I expect I talked to her like a Dutch uncle when I 
caught up with her. Dear I dear 1 Where is Cap’n 
Burgess ? ” 

“ He’s shut up in a fish shanty down the road, and 
he’s so upsot that I dunno’s he’ll stir from there to- 
night. Jerry ain’t prejudiced, but that darky was 
too much for him.” 

And then they both laughed, the widow because of 
the ludicrous nature of the affair and the Captain 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 91 


because of the relief that the lady’s acceptance of it 
afforded his mind. 

Mrs. Snow was the first to become grave. “ Cap’n 
Hedge,” she said, “ there’s one or two things I must 
say right here. In the first place, I ain’t in the habit 
of answerin’ advertisements from folks that wants 
to git married; I ain’t so hard up for a man as all 
that comes to. Next thing, I didn’t come down here 
with my mind made up to marry Cap’n Burgess, not 
by no means. I wanted to see him and talk with him, 
and tell him jest all about how things was with me 
and find out about him and then — why, if everything 
was shipshape, I might, p’raps, think about ” 

“ Jest so, ma’am, jest so,” broke in her companion. 
“ That’s about the way we felt. You see, there’s 
prob’ly a long story on both sides, and if you’ll 
excuse me I’ll go down to the shanty and see if I can’t 
git Jerry up here. It ’ll be a job, I’m ’fraid, but 

“ No, you shan’t either. I’ll tell you what we’ll 
do. It’s awful late now and I must be gittin’ up to 
the tavern. S’pose, if ’tain’t too much trouble, you 
walk up there with me and I’ll stay there to-night 
and to-morrer I’ll come down here, and we’ll all have 
a common-sense talk. P’raps by that time your 
friend ’ll have the darky woman some off his mind, 
too.” 


92 


CAFN ERI 


Needless to say Captain Eri agreed to this plan 
with alacrity. The widow carefully tied on a black, 
old-fashioned bonnet, picked up a fat, wooden- 
handled umbrella and the extension case, and said 
that she was ready. 

They walked up the road together, the Captain 
carrying the extension case. They talked, but not 
of matrimonial prospects. Mrs. Snow knew almost 
as much about the sea and the goings and comings 
thereon as did her escort, and the conversation was 
salty in the extreme. It developed that the Nan- 
tucket lady had a distant relative who was in the 
life-saving service at Cuttyhunk station, and as the 
Captain knew every station man for twenty miles up 
and down the coast, wrecks and maritime disasters of 
all kinds were discussed in detail. 

At the Traveler’s Rest Mrs. Snow was intro- 
duced by the unblushing Eri as a cousin from Prov- 
incetown, and, after some controversy concerning 
the price of board and lodging, she was shown up 
to her room. Captain Eri walked home, absorbed 
in meditation. Whatever his thoughts were they 
were not disagreeable, for he smiled and shook his 
head more than once, as if with satisfaction. As he 
passed John Baxter’s house he noticed that the light 
in the upper window was still burning. 


WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET 93 


Captain Perez was half asleep when Eri opened the 
door of the shanty. Captain Jerry, however, was 
very much awake and demanded to be told things 
right away. His friend briefly explained the situ- 
ation. 

“ I don’t care if she stays here till doomsday,” em- 
phatically declared the disgruntled one, ” I shan’t 
marry her. What’s she like, anyhow? ” 

He was surprised at the enthusiasm of Captain 
Eri’s answer. 

“ She’s a mighty good woman; that’s what I think 
she is, and she’d make a fust-class wife for any man. 
I hope you’ll say so, too, when you see her. There 
ain’t nothin’ hity-tity about her, but she’s got more 
common-sense than any woman I ever saw. But 
there! I shan’t talk another bit about her to-night. 
Come on home and turn in.” 

And go home and turn in they did, but not with- 
out protestation from the pair who had yet to meet 
the woman from Nantucket. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL RINGS 


hands on deck! Turn out there 1 
^ “A ^ Turn out! ” 

^ r\ ^ Captain Eri grunted and rolled 
^ ^ ^ $ over in his bed ; for a moment or two 
^###^ he fancied himself back in the fo’cas- 
tle of the Sea Mist, the bark in which he had made 
his first voyage. Then, as he grew wider awake, he 
heard, somewhere in the distance, a bell ringing furi- 
ously. 

“ Turn out, all hands ! Turn out ! ” 

Captain Eri sat up. That voice was no part of a 
dream. It belonged to Captain Jerry, and the tone 
of it meant business. The bell continued to ring. 

“Aye, aye, Jerry! What’s the matter?” he 
shouted. 

“ Fire ! There’s a big fire up in the village. Look 
out of the window, and you can see. They’re ringing 
the schoolhouse bell; don’t you hear it? ” 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


95 


The Captain, wide awake enough by this time, 
jumped out of bed, carrying the blankets with him, 
and ran to the window. Opening it, he thrust out his 
head. The wind had changed to the eastward, and 
a thick fog had come in with it. The house was 
surrounded by a wet, black wall, but off to the west 
a red glow shone through it, now brighter and now 
fainter. The schoolhouse bell was turning somer- 
saults in its excitement. 

Only once, since Captain Jerry had been janitor, 
had the schoolhouse bell been rung except in the per- 
formance of its regular duties. That once was on a 
night before the Fourth of July, when some mis- 
chievous youngsters climbed in at a window and pro- 
claimed to sleeping Orham that Young America was 
celebrating the anniversary of its birth. Since then, 
on nights before the Fourth, Captain Jerry had slept 
in the schoolhouse, armed with a horsewhip and an 
ancient navy revolver. The revolver was strictly 
for show, and the horsewhip for use, but neither 
was called into service, for even if some dare-devil 
spirits did venture near the building, the Captain’s 
snores, as he slumbered by the front door, were danger 
signals that could not be disregarded. 

But there was no flavor of the Fourth in the bell’s 
note this night. Whoever the ringer might be, he 


96 


CAFN ERI 


was ringing as though it was his only hope for life, 
and the bell swung back and forth without a pause. 
The red glow in the fog brightened again as the 
Captain gazed at it. 

Captain Jerry came tumbling up the stairs, breath- 
less and half dressed. 

“ Where do you make it out to be? ” he panted. 

“ Somewhere’s nigh the post-office. Looks ’s if it 
might be Weeks’s store. Where’s Perez ? ” 

Captain Eri had lighted a lamp and was pulling 
on his boots, as he spoke. 

“ Here I be ! ” shouted the missing member of the 
trio from the dining room below. “ I’m all ready. 
Hurry up, Eri ! ” 

Captain Eri jumped into his trousers, slipped into 
a faded pea-jacket and clattered downstairs, followed 
by the wildly excited Jerry. 

“ Good land, Perez ! ” he cried, as he came into 
the dining room, “ I thought you said you was all 
ready ! ” 

Captain Perez paused in the vain attempt to make 
Captain Jerry’s hat cover his own cranium and re- 
plied indignantly, “ Well, I am, ain’t I? ” 

“ Seems to me I’d put somethin’ on my feet besides 
them socks, if I was you. You might catch cold.” 

Perez glanced down at his blue-yarn extremities in 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


97 


blank astonishment. “ Well, now,” he exclaimed, 
“ if I hain’t forgot my boots ! ” 

“ Well, git ’em on, and be quick. There’s your 
hat. Give Jerry his.” 

The excited Perez vanished through the door of 
his chamber, and Captain Eri glanced at the chro- 
nometer; the time was a quarter after two. 

They hurried out of the door and through the 
yard. The wind, as has been said, was from the east, 
but there was little of it and, except for the clanging 
of the bell, the night was very still. The fog was 
heavy and wet, and the trees and bushes dripped as if 
from a shower. There was the salt smell of the 
marshes in the air, and the hissing and splashing of 
the surf on the outer beach were plainly to be heard. 
Also there was the clicking sound of oars in row- 
locks. 

“ Somebody is cornin’ over from the station,” 
gasped Captain Jerry. “ Don’t run so, Eri. It’s too 
dark. I’ve pretty nigh broke my neck already.” 

They passed the lily pond, where the frogs had 
long since adjourned their concert and gone to bed, 
dodged through the yard of the tightly shuttered sum- 
mer hotel, and came out at the corner of the road, 
having saved some distance by the “ short-cut.” 

“That ain’t Weeks’s store,” declared Ca^ptain 


98 


CAFN ERl 


Perez, who was in the lead. “ It’s Web Saunders’s 
place ; that’s what it is.” 

Captain Eri paused and looked over to the left in 
the direction of the Baxter homestead. The light in 
the window was still burning. 

They turned into the “ main road ” at a dog trot 
and became part of a crowd of oddly dressed people, 
all running in the same direction. 

“Web’s place, ain’t it?” asked Eri of Seth Win- 
gate, who was lumbering along with a wooden bucket 
in one hand and the pitcher of his wife’s best wash- 
stand set in the other. 

“ Yes,” breathlessly answered Mr. Wingate, “ and 
it’s a goner, they tell me. Every man’s got to do his 
part if they’re going to save it. I allers said we ought 
to have a fire department in this town.” 

Considering that Seth had, for the past eight years, 
persistently opposed in town-meeting any attempt 
to purchase a hand engine, this was a rather sur- 
prising speech, but no one paid any attention to 
it then. 

The fTre was in the billiard saloon sure enough, and 
the back portion of the building was in a blaze when 
they reached it. Ladders were placed against the 
eaves, and a line of men with buckets were pouring 
water on the roof. The line extended to the town 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


99 


pump, where two energetic youths in their shirt- 
sleeves were working the handle with might and 
main. The houses near at hand were brilliantly il- 
luminated, and men and women were bringing water 
from them in buckets, tin pails, washboilers, and 
even coalscuttles. 

Inside the saloon another hustling crowd was busily 
working to “ save ” Mr. Saunders’ property. A 
dozen of the members had turned the biggest pool 
table over on its back and were unscrewing the legs, 
heedless of the fact that to attempt to get the table 
through the front door was an impossibility and that, 
as the back door was in the thickest of the fire, it, too, 
was out of the question. A man appeared at the open 
front window of the second story with his arms filled 
with bottles of various liquids, “ original packages ” 
and others. These, with feverish energy, he threw 
one by one into the street, endangering the lives of 
everyone in range and, of course, breaking every bot- 
tle thrown. Some one of the cooler heads calling his 
attention to these facts, he retired and carefully 
packed all the empty bottles, the only ones remaining, 
into a peach basket and tugged the latter downstairs 
and to a safe place on a neighboring piazza. Then 
he rested from his labors as one who had done all 
that might reasonably be expected. 


lOO 


CAFN ERI 


Mr. Saunders himself, lightly attired in a night- 
shirt tucked into a pair of trousers, was rushing here 
and there, now loudly demanding more water, and 
then stopping to swear at the bottle-thrower or some 
other enthusiast. “ Web’s ” smoothness was all gone, 
and the language he used was, as Abigail Mullett said 
afterward, “ enough to bring down a jedgment on 
anybody.” 

Captain Eri caught him by the sleeve as be was 
running past and inquired, “ How’d it start, Web?” 

“ How’d it start? I know mighty well how it 
started, and ’fore I git through I’ll know who started 
it. Somebody ’ll pay for this, now you hear me ! 
Hurry up with the water, you ” 

He tore frantically away to the pump and the 
three captains joined the crowd of volunteer fire- 
men. Captain Eri, running round to the back of the 
building, took in the situation at once. Back of the 
main portion of the saloon was an ell, and it was in 
this ell that the fire had started. The ell, itself, was 
in a bright blaze, but the larger building in front was 
only just beginning to burn. The Captain climbed 
one of the ladders to the roof and called to the men 
at work there. 

“ That shed’s gone, Ben,” he said. “ Chuck your 
water on the main part here. Maybe, if we had some 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


lOI 


ropes we might be able to pull the shed clear, and 
then we could save the rest.” 

“ How’d you fasten the ropes ? ” was the panted 
reply. “ She’s all ablaze, and a rope would burn 
through in a minute if you tied it anywheres.” 

“ Git some grapples and anchors out of Rogers’ 
shop. He’s got a whole lot of ’em. Keep on with 
the water bus’ness. I’ll git the other stuff.” 

He descended the ladder and explained his idea to 
the crowd below. There was a great shout and 
twenty men and boys started on a run after ropes, 
while as many more stormed at the door of Nathaniel 
Rogers’ blacksmith shop. Rogers was the local 
dealer in anchors and other marine ironwork. The 
door of the shop was locked and there was a yell for 
axes to burst it open. 

Then arose an agonized shriek of “ Don’t chop ! 
don’t chop ! ” and Mr. Rogers himself came strug- 
gling to the defense of his property. In concert the 
instant need was explained to him, but he remained 
unconvinced. 

“We can’t stay here arguin’ all night!” roared 
one of the leaders. “ He’s got to let us in. Go ahead 
and chop ! I’ll hold him.” 

“I give you fair warnin’. Squealer Wixon! If 
you chop that door. I’ll have the law onto you. I 


102 


CAFN ERI 


just had that door painted, and Stop! I’ve got 

the key in my pocket! ” 

It was plain that the majority were still in favor of 
chopping, as affording a better outlet for surplus 
energy, but they waited while Mr. Rogers, still pro- 
testing, produced the key and unlocked the door. In 
another minute the greater portion of the ironwork 
in the establishment was on its way to the fire. 

The rope-seekers were just returning, laden with 
everything from clothes-lines to cables. Half a dozen 
boat anchors and a grapnel were fastened to as many 
ropes, and the crowd pranced gayly about the burning 
ell, looking for a chance to make them fast. Captain 
Eri found a party with axes endeavoring to cut a hole 
through the side of the saloon in order to get out the 
pool table. After some endeavor be persuaded them 
to desist and they came around to the rear and, taking 
turns, ran in close to the shed and chopped at it until 
the fire drove them away. At last they made a hole 
close to where it joine4 the main building, large 
enough to attach the grapnel. Then, with a “ Yo 
heave ho! ” everyone took hold of the rope and 
pulled. Of course the grapnel pulled out with only 
a board or two, but they tried again, and, this time 
getting it around a beam, pulled a large portion of 
the shed to the ground. 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


103 


Meanwhile, another ax party had attached an 
anchor to the opposite side, and were making good 
progress. In due time the shed yawned away from 
the saloon, tottered, and collapsed in a shower of 
sparks. A deluge of water soon extinguished these. 
Then everyone turned to the main building, and, as 
the fire had not yet taken a firm hold of this, they 
soon had it under control. 

Captain Eri worked with the rest until he saw that 
the worst was over. Then he began the search that 
had been in his mind since he first saw the blaze. He 
found Captain Jerry and Captain Perez perspiringly 
passing buckets of water from hand to hand in the 
line, and, calling them to one side, asked anxiously : 

“ Have either of you fellers seen John Baxter to- 
night?” 

Captain Perez looked surprised, and then some of 
the trouble discernible in Eri’s face was apparent in 
his own. 

“ Why, no,” he replied slowly, “ I ain’t seen him, 
now you speak of it. Everybody in town’s here, too. 
Queer, ain’t it? ” 

“ Haven’t you seen him, either, Jerry? ” 

Captain Jerry answered with a shake of the head. 
‘‘ But then,” he said, “ Perez and me have been right 
here by the pump ever sence we come. He might be 


104 


CAFN ERl 


’most anywheres else, and we wouldn’t see him. 
Want me to ask some of the other fellers?” 

“ No ! ” exclaimed his friend, almost fiercely. 
“ Don’t you mention his name to a soul, nor let ’em 
know you’ve thought of him. If anybody should ask, 
tell ’em you guess he’s right around somewheres. 
You two git to work ag’in. I’ll let you know if I 
want you.” 

The pair took up their buckets, and the Captain 
walked on from group to group, looking carefully 
at each person. The Reverend Perley and some of 
his flock were standing by themselves on a neigh- 
boring stoop, and to them the searcher turned 
eagerly. 

“ Why, Cap’n Eri ! ” exclaimed Miss Busteed, the 
first to identify him, “how you’ve worked! You 
must be tired pretty nigh to death. Ain’t it awful! 
But it’s the Lord’s doin’s; I’m jest as sure of that as 
I can be, and I says so to Mr. Perley. Didn’t I, Mr. 
Perley? I says ” 

“Lookin’ for anybody, Cap’n?” interrupted the 
reverend gentleman. 

“ No,” lied the Captain calmly, “ jest walkin’ 
around to git cooled off a little. Good-night.” 

There was the most likely place, and John Baxter 
was not there. Certainly every citizen in Orham, 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


105 


who was able to crawl, would be out this night, and 
if the old puritan hermit of the big house was not 
present to exult over the downfall of the wicked, it 

would be because he was ill or because The 

Captain didn’t like to think of the other reason. 

Mrs. “ Web ” Saunders, quietly weeping, was 
seated on a knoll near the pump. Three of the Saun- 
ders’ hopefuls, also weeping, but not quietly, were 
seated beside her. Another, the youngest of the 
family, was being rocked soothingly in the arms of a 
stout female, who was singing to it as placidly as 
though fires were an every day, or night, occurrence. 
The Captain peered down, and the stout woman 
looked up. 

“ Why, Mrs. Snow ! ” exclaimed Captain Eri. 

The lady from Nantucket made no immediate 
reply. She rose, however, shook down the black 
“ alpaca ” skirt, which had been folded up to keep 
it out of the dew, and, still humming softly to the 
child, walked off a little way, motioning with her 
head for the Captain to follow. When she had 
reached a spot sufficiently remote from Mrs. Saun- 
ders, she whispered: 

“ How d’ye do, Cap’n Hedge ? I guess the wust is 
over now, isn’t it? I saw you workin’ with them 
ropes; you must be awful tired,” 


io6 


CAFN ERI 


“ How long have you been here? ” asked the Cap- 
tain somewhat astonished at her calmness. 

“ Oh, I come right down as soon as I heard the 
bell. I’m kind of used to fires. My husband’s 
schooner got afire twice while I was with him. He 
used to run a coal vessel, you know. I got right up 
and packed my bag, ’cause I didn’t know how the fire 
might spread. You never can tell in a town like this. 
Ssh’h, dearie,” to the baby, “ there, there, it’s all 
right. Lay still.” 

“ How’d you git acquainted with her?” nodding 
toward the wife of the proprietor of the scorched 
saloon. 

“ Oh, I see the poor thing settin’ there with all 
them children and nobody paying much attention to 
her, so I went over and asked if I couldn’t help out. 
I haven’t got any children of my own, but I was num- 
ber three in a fam’ly of fourteen, so I know how it’s 
done. Oh ! that husband of hers ! He’s a nice one, 
he is ! Would you b’lieve it, he come along and she 
spoke to him, and he swore at her somethin’ dreadful. 
That’s why she’s cryin’. Poor critter, I guess by 
the looks she’s used to it. Well, I give him a piece 
of my mind. He went away with a flea in his ear. I 
do despise a profane man above all things. Yes, the 
baby’s all right, Mrs. Saunders. I’m a-comin’. Good- 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL to-; 

night, Cap’n Hedge. I s’pose I shall see you all in 
the mornin’. You ought to be careful and not stand 
still much this damp night. It’s bad when you’re het 
up so.” 

She went back, still singing to the baby, to where 
Mrs. Saunders sat, and the Captain looked after her 
in a kind of amazed fashion. 

“ By mighty ! ” he muttered, and then repeated it. 
Then he resumed his search. 

He remembered that there had been a number of 
people on the side of the burning shed opposite 
that on which he had been employed, and he deter- 
mined to have one look there before going to the 
Baxter homestead. Almost the first man he saw as 
he approached the dying fire was Ralph Hazeltine. 
The electrician’s hands and face were blackened by 
soot, and the perspiration sparkled on his forehead. 

“ Hello, Captain ! ” he said, holding out his hand. 
“Lively for a while, wasn’t it? They tell me you 
were the man who suggested pulling down the shed. 
It saved the day, all right enough.” 

“ You look as if you’d been workin’ some your- 
self. Was you one of the fellers that got that an* 
chor in on this side? ” 

“ He was the one,” broke in Mr. Wingate, v.'ho 
was standing at Hazeltine’s elbow. “ He waded 


io8 


CAFN ERI 


in with an ax and stayed there till I thought he’d 
burn the hair off his head. Web ought to pay you 
and him salvage, Eri. The whole craft would have 
gone up if it hadn’t been for you two.” 

“ I wonder if they got that pool table out,” 
laughed Ralph. “ They did everything but saw it 
into chunks.” 

“ I never saw Bluey Bacheldor work so afore,” 
commented the Captain. “ I wish somebody’d took 
a photograph of him. I’ll bet you could sell ’em 
round town for curiosities. Well, I can’t be standin’ 
here.” 

“ If you’re going home I’ll go along with you. I 
may as well be getting down toward the station. The 
excitement is about over.” 

“ I ain’t goin’ right home, Mr. Hazeltine. I’ve 
got an errand to do. Prob’ly I’ll be goin’ pretty 
soon, though.” 

“ Oh, all right I I’ll wait here a while longer then. 
See you later perhaps.” 

The fog had lifted somewhat and as the Captain, 
running silently, turned into the “ shore road,” he saw 
that the light in the Baxter homestead had not been 
extinguished. The schoolhouse bell had ceased to 
ring, and the shouts of the crowd at the fire sounded 
faintly. There were no other sounds. 


THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL 


109 


Up the driveway Captain Eri hurried. There 
were no lights in the lower part of the house and the 
dining-room door was locked. The kitchen door, 
however, was not fastened and the Captain opened 
it and entered. Shutting it carefully behind him, he 
groped along to the entrance of the next room. 

“ John ! ” he called softly. There was no an- 
swer, and the house was perfectly still save for the 
ticking of the big clock. Captain Eri scratched a 
match and by its light climbed the stairs. His 
friend’s room was empty. The lamp was burning on 
the bureau and a Bible was open beside it. The bed 
had not been slept in. 

Thoroughly alarmed now, the Captain, lamp in 
hand, went through one room after the other. John 
Baxter was not at home, and he was not with the 
crowd at the fire. Where was he? There was, of 
course, a chance that his friend had passed him on 
the way or that he had been at the fire, after all, 
but this did not seem possible. However, there was 
nothing to do but go back, and this time the Captain 
took the path across the fields. 

The Baxter house was on the “ shore road,” and 
the billiard room and post-office were on the “ main 
road.” People in a hurry sometimes avoided the 
corner by climbing the fence opposite the Baxter gate, 


110 


CAFN ERI 


going through the Dawes’ pasture and over the little 
hill back of the livery stable, and coming out in the 
rear of the post-office and close to the saloon. 

Captain Eri, worried, afraid to think of the fire 
and its cause, and only anxious to ascertain where his 
friend was and what he had been doing that night, 
trotted through the pasture and over the hill. Just 
as he came to the bayberry bushes on the other side 
he stumbled and fell flat. 

He knew what it was that he had stumbled over 
the moment that he fell across it, and his fingers 
trembled so that he could scarcely scratch the match 
that he took from his pocket. But it was lighted at 
last and, as its tiny blaze grew brighter, the Captain 
saw John Baxter lying face downward in the path, 
his head pointed toward his home and his feet toward 
the billiard saloon. 






MV v: > 

f • • 




CAPTAIN ERI FINDS A NURSE 

a second, only, Captain Eri stood 
# -r?' # there motionless, stooping over the 
^ |H ^ body of his friend. Then he sprang 
^ ^ into vigorous action. He dropped 

upon his knees and, seizing the 
shoulder of the prostrate figure, shook it gently, 
whispering, “ John ! John ! ” There was no answer 
and no responsive movement, and the Captain bent 
his head and listened. Breath was there and life; 
but, oh, so little of either! The next thought was, 
of course, to run for help and for a doctor, but he 
took but a few steps when a new idea struck him 
and he came back. 

Lighting another match he examined the fallen 
jnan hurriedly. The old “ Come-Outer ” lay in the 
path with his arms outstretched, as if he had fallen 
while running. He was bare-headed, and there was 
no sign of a wound upon him. One coat-sleeve was 

III 


1 12 


CAFN ERI 


badly scorched, and from a pocket in the coat pro- 
truded the neck of a bottle. The bottle was empty, 
but its odor was strong; it had contained kerosene. 
The evidence was clear, and the Captain knew that 
what he had feared was the truth. 

For a moment he stood erect and pondered as to 
what was best to do. Whatever it was, it must be 
done quickly, but if the doctor and those that might 
come with him should find the burned coat and the 
tell-tale bottle, it were better for John Baxter that 
consciousness and life never were his again. There 
might, and probably would, be suspicion; but here 
was proof absolute that meant prison and disgrace 
for a man whom all the community had honored and 
respected. 

Captain Eri weighed the chances, speculated on 
the result, and then did what seemed to him right. 
He threw the bottle as far away from the path as he 
could and then stripped off the coat, and, folding it 
into a small bundle, hid it in the bushes near by. 
Then he lifted the limp body, and turned it so that 
the gray head was toward the billiard saloon instead 
of from it. 

Perez and Jerry were still busy with the water 
buckets when their friend came panting up the knoll 
to the pump. 


FINDING A NURSE 


1*3 


“ Hello, Eri ! ” said the former, wiping his fore- 
head with his arm. “ It’s ’bout out, ain’t it? Why, 
what’s the matter?” 

“ Nothin’; nothin’ to speak of. Put down them 
buckets, and you and Jerry come with me. I’ve got 
somethin’ that I want you to do.” 

Nodding and exchanging congratulations with 
acquaintances in the crowd on the success of the fire- 
fighting, Captain Eri led his messmates to a dark 
corner under a clump of trees. Then he took each 
of them by the arm and whispered sharply: 

“ Dr. Palmer’s somewheres in this crowd. I 
want each of you fellers to go diff’rent ways and 
look for him. Whichever one finds him fust can 
bring him up to the corner by the post-office. Whistle 
when you git there and the rest of us ’ll come. Don’t 
stop to ask questions. I ain’t hurt, but John Baxter’s 
had a stroke or somethin’. I can’t tell you no more 
now. Hurry ! And say, don’t you mention to a soul 
what the matter is.” 

A sea-faring life has its advantages. It teaches 
prompt obedience, for one thing. The two mariners 
did not hesitate an instant, but bolted in opposite 
directions. Captain Eri watched them go, and then 
set off in another. He was stopped every few mo- 
ments and all sorts of questions and comments con- 


1 14 


CAFN ERI 


cerning the fire and its cause were fired at him, but 
he put off some inquiries with a curt “ Don’t know ” 
and others with nods or negatives, and threaded his 
way from one clump of townspeople to another. As 
he came close to the blackened and smoking billiard 
saloon, Ralpn Hazeltine caught him by the arm. 

“ Hello ! ” said the electrician. “ Haven’t you 
gone home yet? ” 

“ No, not yit. Say, I’ll ask you, ’cause I cal’late 
you can keep your mouth shut if it’s necessary: Have 
you seen the Doctor anywheres ’round lately? He 
was here, ’cause I saw him when I fust come.” 

“Who, Dr. Palmer? No; I haven’t seen him. 
Is anyone hurt? Can I help?” 

“ I guess not. John Baxter’s sick, but — oh. Lord! 
Here comes Wingate. He’ll talk for a week.” 

Seth, panting and excited, was pushing his way 
toward them, shouting the Captain’s name at the 
top of his voice. 

“ Hey, Eri I ” he hailed. “ I want to know if 
you’ll sign a petition to git the town a fire ingyne? 
I’ve been talkin’ to a couple of the s’lectmen and 
they ” 

“ Oh, Mr. Wingate,” interrupted Ralph, “ Mr. 
Mullett’s been looking for you. He’s over there by 
the pump, I think.” 


FINDING A NURSE 


"5 

“ Who, Lem Mullett? Is that so ! He’s jest the 
feller I want to see. See you later, Eri.” 

The Captain grinned appreciatively as the convert 
to the hand-engine proposal disappeared. 

“ That wasn’t so bad,” he said. “ I’m much 
obliged. Hey ! There’s the whistle. Come on, 
Mr. Hazeltine, if you ain’t in a special hurry. 
Maybe we will need you.” 

They reached the corner by the post-office to find 
Dr. Palmer, who had practiced medicine in Orham 
since he received his diploma, waiting for them. 
Captain Perez, who had discovered the physician 
on the Nickerson piazza, was standing close by with 
his fingers in his mouth, whistling with the regularity 
of a foghorn. 

“ Cut it short, Perez ! ” commanded Eri. “ We’re 
here now.” 

“ Yes, but Jerry ain’t.” And the whistling began 
again. 

“ Dry up, for the land’s sake ! D’you want to 
fetch the whole tribe here? There’s Jerry, now. 
Come on. Doctor.” 

John Baxter was lying just as the Captain had left 
him, and the others watched anxiously as the doctor 
listened at the parted lips, and thrust his hand inside 
the faded blue waistcoat. 


Ii6 


CAFN ERI 


“ He’s alive,” he said after a moment, “ but un- 
conscious. We must get him home at once.” 

“ He heard the bell and was runnin’ to the fire 
when he was took,” said Captain Jerry. “ Run out 
in his shirtsleeves, and was took when he got as 
fur as here.” 

“ That’s the way I figger it,” said Eri unblush- 
ingly. “ Lift him carefully, you fellers. Now 
thenl” 

“ I warned him against over-exertion or excitement 
months ago,” said the Doctor, as they bore the sense- 
less burden toward the big house, now as black as 
the grave that was so near its owner. “ We must 
find someone to take care of him at once. I don’t be- 
lieve the old man has a relation within a hundred 
miles.” 

“ Why don’t we take him to our house ? ” suggested 
Captain Jerry. “ ’Twouldn’t seem so plaguey lone- 
some, anyhow.” 

“ By mighty! ” ejaculated Captain Eri in astonish- 
ment. “ Well, Jerry, I’ll be switched if you ain’t 
right down brilliant once in a while. Of course we 
will. He can have the spare room. Why didn’t I 
think of that, I wonder? ” 

And so John Baxter, who had not paid a visit in 
his native village since his wife died, came at last to 


FINDING A NURSE 


117 


his friend’s home to pay what seemed likely to be 
a final one. They carried him up the stairs to the 
spare room, as dismal and cheerless as spare rooms 
in the country generally are, undressed him as ten- 
derly as their rough hands would allow, robed him 
in one of Captain Jerry’s nightshirts — the buttons 
that fastened it had been sewed on by the Captain 
himself, and were all sizes and colors — and laid him 
in the big corded bedstead. The Doctor hastened 
away to procure his medicine case. Ralph Hazeltine, 
having been profusely thanked for his services and 
promising to call the next day, went back to the 
station, and the three captains sat down by the bed- 
side to watch and wait. 

Captain Eri was too much perturbed to talk, but 
the other two, although sympathetically sorry for 
the sufferer, were bursting with excitement and 
curiosity. 

“Well, if this ain’t been a night!’’ exclaimed 
Captain Jerry. “ Seem’s if everything happened at 
once. Fust that darky and then the fire and then 
this. Don’t It beat all? ” 

“ Eri,’’ said Captain Perez anxiously, “ was John 
layin’ jest the same way when you found him as he 
was when we come ? ” 

“ Right In the same place,” was the answer. 


ii8 


CAFN ERI 


“ I didn’t say in the same place. I asked if he 
was layin’ the same way.” 

“ He hadn’t moved a muscle. Laid jest as if he 
was dead.” 

It will be noticed that Captain Eri was adhering 
strictly to the truth. Luckily, Perez seemed to be 
satisfied, for he asked no further questions, but ob- 
served, “ It’s a good thing we’ve got a crowd to 
swear how we found him. There’s a heap of folks 
in this town would be sayin’ he set that fire if ’twa’n’t 
for that.” 

“ Some of ’em will be sayin’ it anyhow,” remarked 
Jerry. 

“ Some folks ’ll say anything but their prayers,” 
snapped Eri savagely. “ They won’t say it while 
I’m around. And look here! if you hear anybody 
sayin’ it, you tell ’em it’s a lie. If that don’t keep 
’em quiet, let me know.” 

“ Oh, all right. We know he didn’t set it. I was 
jest sayin’ ” 

“ Well, don’t say it.” 

“ My, you’re techy I Guess fires and colored folks 
don’t agree with you. What are we goin’ to do 
now? If John don’t die, and the Lord knows I hope 
he won’t, he’s likely to be sick here a long spell. Who 
are we goin’ to git to take care of him? That’s 


FINDING A NURSE 


119 

what I want to know. Somebody’s got to do It and 
we ain’t fit. If Jerry ’d only give in and git married 
now ” 

But Captain Jerry’s protest against matrimony 
was as obstinate as ever. Even Perez gave up urg- 
ing after a while and conversation lagged again. In 
a few minutes the Doctor came back, and his exami- 
nation of the patient and demands for glasses of 
water, teaspoons, and the like, kept Perez and 
Jerry busy. It was some time before they noticed 
that Captain Eri had disappeared. Even then 
they did not pay much attention to the circum- 
stance, but watched the physician at work and 
questioned him concerning the nature of their 
guest’s illness. 

“ D’you think he’ll die. Doctor?” inquired Jerry 
in a hushed voice, as they came out of the sick room 
into the connecting chamber. 

“ Can’t say. He has had a stroke of paralysis, 
and there seem to be other complications. If he 
regains consciousness I shall think he has a chance, 
but not a very good one. His pulse is a little 
stronger. I don’t think he’ll die to-night, but If he 
lives he will need a good nurse, and I don’t know 
cf one in town.” 

“ Nor me neither,” said Captain Perez. 


120 


CAFIS ERl 


“ Well, A’nt Zuby might come,” suggested Jerry, 
“ but I should hate to have her nuss me, and as for 
bein’ well in a house where she was — whew ! ” 

“A’nt Zuby!” sneered his messmate. “If Lo- 
renzo had a fit and they called A’nt Zuby he’d have 
another one and die. A’nt Zuby ! I’d ’bout as soon 
have M’lissy and be done with it.” 

“ Yes, I don’t doubt you would," was the anything 
but gentle retort. 

What Perez would have said to this thrust must 
be surmised, for just then the dining-room door 
opened and closed again. 

“ There’s Eri,” said Captain Jerry. Then he 
added in an alarmed whisper, “ Who on airth has 
he got with him? ” 

They heard their friend’s voice warning someone 
to be careful of the top step, and then the chamber 
door opened and Captain Eri appeared. There were 
beads of perspiration on his forehead, and he was 
carrying a shabby canvas extension-case. Captain 
Jerry gazed at the extension-case with bulging 
eyes. 

Captain Eri put down the extension-case and 
opened the door wide. A woman came in; a stout 
woman dressed in black “ alpaca ” and wearing brass- 
rimmed spectacles. Captain Jerry gasped audibly.. 


FINDING A NURSE 


I2I 


“ Dr. Palmer,” said Captain Eri, “ let me make 
you acquainted with Mrs. Snow of Nantucket. Mrs. 
Snow, this is Dr. Palmer.” 

The Doctor and the lady from Nantucket shook 
hands, the former with a puzzled expression on his 
face. 

“ Perez,” continued the Captain, “ let me make 
you known to Mrs. Snow — Mrs. Marthy B. Snow,” 
— this with especial emphasis, — “ of Nantucket. 
Mrs. Snow, this is Cap’n Perez Ryder.” 

They shook hands; Captain Perez managed to say 
that he was glad to meet Mrs. Snow. Captain Jerry 
said nothing, but he looked like a criminal awaiting 
the fall of the drop. 

” Doctor,” continued the Captain, paying no at- 
tention to the signals of distress displayed by his 
friend, “ I heard you say a spell ago that John here 
needed somebody to take care of him. Well, Mrs. 
Snow — she’s a — a — sort of relation of Jerry’s ” — 
just a suspicion of a smile accompanied this asser- 
tion — “ and she’s done consid’rable nussin’ in her 
time. Pve been talkin’ the thing over with her 
and she’s willin’ to look out for John till he gits 
better.” 

The physician adjusted his eyeglasses and looked 
the volunteer nurse over keenly. The lady paid no 


122 


CAFN ERI 


attention to the scrutiny, but calmly removed her 
bonnet and placed it on the bureau. The room was 
Captain Eri’s, and the general disarrangement of 
everything movable was only a little less marked than 
in those of his companions. Mrs. Snow glanced 
over the heap of odds and ends on the bureau and 
picked up a comb. There were some teeth in it, but 
they were distant neighbors. 

“ I don’t use that comb very much,” said Captain 
Eri rather apologetically. “ I gin’ rally use the one 
downstairs.” 

The new-found relative of Captain Jerry said 
nothing, but, laying down the ruin, marched over to 
the extension-case, opened it, and took out another 
comb — a whole one. With this she arranged the 
hair on her forehead. It, the hair, was parted in 
the middle and drawn back smoothly at the sides, and 
Captain Eri noticed that it was brown with a little 
gray in it. When the last stray wisp was in place, 
she turned calmly to the Doctor and said: 

“ Cap’n Baxter’s in here, I s’pose. Shall I walk 
right in? ” 

The man of medicine seemed a little surprised at 
the lady’s command of the situation, but he said : 

“Why, yes, ma’am; I guess you may. You have 
nursed before, I think the Captain said.” 


FINDING A NURSE 


123 


“ Five years with my husband. He had slow con- 
sumption. Before that with my mother, and most 
of my brothers and sisters at one time or another. 
I’ve seen consid’rable sickness all my life. More of 
that than anything else, I guess. Now, if you’ll 
come in with me, so’s to tell me about the medicine 
and so on.” 

With a short “ Humph I ” the physician followed 
her into the sick room, while the three mariners 
gazed wide-eyed in at the door. They watched, as 
Doctor Palmer explained medicines and gave direc- 
tions. It did not need an expert to see that the new 
nurse understood her business. 

When the Doctor came out his face shone with 
gratification. 

“ She’ll do,” he said emphatically. “ If all your 
relatives are like that, Cap’n Burgess, I’d like to 
know ’em; ’twould help me in my business.” Then 
he added in response to a question, “ He seems to be 
a little better just now. I think there will be no 
change for a while; if there should be, send for me. 
I’ll call in the morning. Gracious! it’s almost day- 
light now.” 

They saw him to the door and then came back 
upstairs. Mrs. Snow was busy, arranging the pil- 
lows, setting the room in something like order, and 


124 


CAFN ERI 


caring for her patient’s garments, that had been 
tossed helter-skelter on the floor in the hurry of 
undressing. She came to the door as they entered 
Captain Eri’s chamber. 

“ Mrs. Snow,” said the Captain, “ you’d better 
sleep in my room here long’s you stay. I’ll bunk 
in with Perez downstairs. I’ll git my dunnage out 
of here right off. I think likely you’ll want to clean 
up some.” 

The lady from Nantucket glanced at the bureau 
top and seemed about to say something, but checked 
herself. What she did say was : 

“ P’raps you’d better introduce me to Cap’n Bur- 
gess. I don’t think we’ve ever met, if we are rela- 
tions.” 

Captain Eri actually blushed a little. “ Why, of 
course,” he said. “ Excuse me, ma’am. Jerry, this 
is Mrs. Snow. I don’t know what’s got into me, 
bein’ so careless.” 

The sacrifice shook the nurse’s hand and said 
something, nobody knew exactly what. Mrs. Snow 
went on to say, “ Now, I want you men to go right 
on to bed, for I know you’re all tuckered out. We 
can talk to-morrow — I mean to-day, of course : I 
forgot ’twas next-door to daylight now. I shall set 
up with Cap’n Baxter, and if I need you I’ll call 


FINDING A NURSE 


125 


you. I’ll call you anyway when I think it’s time. 
Good-night.” 

They protested, of course, but the lady would not 
listen. She calmly seated herself in the rocker by 
the bed and waved to them to go, which two of them 
reluctantly did after a while. The other one had 
gone already. It would be superfluous to mention 
his name. 

Downstairs again and in Perez’ room Captain Eri 
came in for a questioning that bade fair to keep up 
forever. He shut off all inquiries, however, with 
the announcement that he wouldn’t tell them a word 
about it till he’d had some sleep. Then he would 
explain the whole thing, and they could decide 
whether he had done right or not. There were 
all sorts of things to be considered, he said, 
and they had better take a nap now while they 
could. 

“ Well, I’d jest like to ask you this, Eri Hedge,” 
demanded Captain Jerry. “ What in time did you 
tell the Doctor that she was a relation of mine for? 
That was a nice thing to do, wa’n’t it? I’ll have to 
answer more fool questions ’bout that than a little. 
What sort of a relation shall I tell folks she is? 
Jest tell me that, will you ? ” 

“ Oh, tell ’em she’s a relation by marriage,” was 


126 


CAFN ERI 


the answer, muffled by the bed clothes. “ Maybe 
that ’ll be true by the time they ask you.” 

“I’ll bet it won’t ! ” snorted the rebel. 

Captain Perez fell asleep almost immediately. 
Captain Jerry, tired out, did the same, but Captain 
Eri’s eyes did not close. The surf pounded and 
grumbled. A rooster, early astir, crowed somewhere 
in the distance. Daniel thumped the side of his 
stall and then subsided for another nap. The gray 
morning light brightened the window of the little 
house. 

Then Captain Eri slid silently out of bed, dressed 
with elaborate precautions against noise, put on his 
cap, and tiptoed out of the house. He walked 
through the dripping grass, climbed the back fence 
and hurried to the hill where John Baxter had fallen. 
Once there, he looked carefully around to be sure 
that no one was watching. Orham, as a rule, is an 
early riser, but this morning most of the inhabitants, 
having been up for the greater part of the night, were 
making up lost sleep and the Captain was absolutely 
alone. 

Assured of this, he turned to the bush underneath 
which he had hidden the burned coat, pushed aside 
the drenched boughs with their fading leaves and 
reached down for the tell-tale garment. 


FINDING A NURSE 


127 


And then he made an unpleasant discovery. The 
coat was gone. 

He spent an agitated quarter of an hour hunting 
through every clump of bushes in the immediate 
vicinity, but there was no doubt of it. Someone had 
been there before him and had taken the coat away. 


CHAPTER VIII 


HOUSEKEEPER AND BOOK AGENT 


was a knock on the door of 
^ Captain Perez’s sleeping apartment. 
^ “ Cap’n Hedge,” said Mrs. Snow, 

^ “ Cap’n Hedge ! I’m sorry to wake 
you up, but it’s ’most ten o’clock 


# 

# 

# 


T 


and ” 

“What? Ten o’clock! Godfrey scissors! Of 
all the lazy — I’ll be out in a jiffy. Perez, turn out 
there ! Turn out, I tell you ! ” 

Captain Eri had fallen asleep in the rocker where 
he had seated himself upon his return from the fruit- 
less search for the coat. He had had no intention 
of sleeping, but he was tired after his strenuous work 
at the fire, and had dropped off in the midst of his 
worry. He sprang to his feet, and tried to separate 
dreams from realities. 

“ Land of love, Perez ! ” he ejaculated. “ Here 
you and me have been sleepin’ ha’f the forenoon. 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


129 


We’d ought to be ashamed of ourselves. Let’s git 
dressed quicker ’n chain lightnin’.” 

“ Dressed? ” queried Perez, sitting up in bed. “ I 
should think you was dressed now, boots and all. 
What are you talkin’ ’bout? ” 

The Captain glanced down at his clothes and 
seemed as much surprised as his friend. He man- 
aged to pull himself together, however, and stam- 
mered: 

“ Dressed? Oh, I’m dressed, of course. It’s you 
I’m tryin’ to git some life into.” 

“ Well, why didn’t you call a feller, ’stead of 
gittin’ up and dressin’ all by yourself. I never see 
such a critter. Where’s my socks?” 

To avoid further perplexing questions Captain 
Eri went into the dining room. The table was set, 
really set, with a clean cloth and dishes that shone. 
The knives and forks were arranged by the plates, 
not piled in a heap for each man to help himself. 
The Captain gasped. 

“Well, I swan to man! ” he said. “ Has Jerry 
had a fit or what’s struck him? I ain’t seen him do 
anything like this for I don’t know when.” 

“ Oh, Cap’n Burgess didn’t fix the table, if that’s 
what you mean,” said the new nurse. “ Cap’n Bax- 
ter seemed to be sleepin’ or in a stupor like, and the 


130 


CAFN ERI 


Doctor, when he come, said I might leave him long 
enough to run downstairs for a few minutes. 


“ The Doctor? Has the Doctor been here this 
momin’ ? ” 

“ Yes, he come ’bout an hour ago. Now, if you 
wouldn’t mind goin’ up and stayin’ with Cap’n Bax- 
ter for a few minutes while I hnish gettin’ breakfast. 
I’ve been up and down so many times in the last ha’f 
hour, I don’t know’s I’m sartin whether I’m on my 
head or my heels.” 

The Captain went upstairs in a dazed state. As 
he passed through what had been his room he vaguely 
noticed that the bureau top was clean, and that most 
of the rubbish that had ornamented it had disap- 
peared. 

The sick man lay just as he had left him, his white 
face as colorless as the clean pillow case against which 
it rested. Captain Eri remembered that the pillow 
cases in the spare room had looked a little yellow 
the night before, possibly owing to the fact that, as 
the room had not been occupied for months, they 
had not been changed. He reasoned that the im- 
provement was another one of the reforms Instituted 
by the lady from Nantucket. 

He sat down in the rocker by the bed and thought, 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


IIL 

with a shiver, of the missing coat. There were nine 
chances out of ten that whoever found it would recog- 
nize it as belonging to the old “ Come-Outer.” The 
contents of the pocket would be almost certain to re- 
veal the secret if the coat itself did not. It remained 
to be seen who the finder was and what he would do. 
Meanwhile there was no use worrying. Having come 
to this conclusion the Captain, with customary phi- 
losophy, resolved to think of something else. 

Mrs. Snow entered and announced that breakfast 
was ready and that he must go down at once and 
eat it while it was hot. She, having breakfasted some 
time before, would stay with the patient until the 
meal was over. Captain Eri at first flatly declined 
to listen to any such arrangement, but the calm in- 
sistence of the Nantucket visitor prevailed as usual. 
The Captain realized that the capacity for “ bossin’ 
things,” that he had discerned in the letter, was even 
more apparent in the lady herself. One thing he did 
insist upon, however, and this was that Mrs. Snow 
should “ turn in ” as soon as breakfast was over. 
One of the three would take the watch in the sick 
room while the other two washed the dishes. The 
nurse was inclined to balk on the dishwashing propo- 
sition, saying that she could do it herself after she had 
had a wink or two, but this the Captain wouldn’t 


132 


CAFN ERl 


hear of. He went away, however, with an unsettled 
conviction that, although he and his partners might 
wash the dishes, Mrs. Snow would wash them again 
as soon as she had an opportunity. “ She didn’t say 
so, but she sort of looked it,” he explained afterward. 

He found his friends seated at the table and feast- 
ing on hot biscuits, eggs, and clear, appetizing coffee. 
They greeted him joyously. 

“ Hey, Eri ! ” hailed Captain Perez. “ Ain’t this 
gay? Look at them eggs; b’iled jest to a T. Ain’t 
much like Jerry’s h’af raw kind.” 

“ Humph ! You needn’t say nothin’, Perez,” ob- 
served Captain Jerry, his mouth full of biscuit. 
“ When you was cook, you allers b’iled ’em so hard 
they’d dent the barn if you’d fired ’em at it. How’s 
John, Eri?” 

Captain Eri-gave his and the Doctor’s opinion of 
his friend’s condition and then said, “ Now, we’ve 
got to have some kind of a settlement on this mar- 
ryin’ question. Last night, when I was up in the. 
room there, it come acrost me all of a sudden that, 
from what I’d seen of this Nantucket woman, she’d 
be jest the sort of nurse that John needed. So I 
skipped out while you fellers was busy with the 
Doctor, found her at the hotel, explained things to 
her, and got her to come down. That’s all there is 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


133 


to that. I ain’t made no arrangement with her, and 
somethin’s got to be done. What do you think of 
her, jedgin’ by what you’ve seen? ” 

Captain Perez gave it as his opinion that she was 
“ all right,” and added, “ If Jerry here wa’n’t so 
pigheaded all at once, he’d marry her without 
waitin’ another minute.” 

Eri nodded. “ That’s my idee,” he said emphatic- 
ally. 

But Captain Jerry was as obstinate as ever. He 
simply would not consider immediate marriage. In 
vain his comrades reminded him of the original com- 
pact, and the fact that the vote was two to one 
against him; he announced that he had changed his 
mind, and that that was all there was about it. 

At length Captain Eri lost patience. 

“ Jerry,” he exclaimed, ” you remind me of that 
old white hen we used to have. When we didn’t 
want her to set she’d set on anything from a door- 
knob to a rock, couldn’t keep her off; but when we 
give in finally and got a settin’ of eggs for her, she 
wouldn’t come nigher to ’em than the other end of 
the hen-yard. Now you might as well make up your 
mind that somethin’s got to be done. This Mrs. 
Snow ain’t nobody’s fool. We put out a bait that 
anybody with sense would say couldn’t catch nothin’ 


134 


CAFN ERl 


but sculpin, and, by mighty, we hooked a halibut! 
If the woman was anything like what you’d think 
she’d be, answerin’ an advertisement like that. I’d be 
the fust to say let her go, but she ain’t; she’s all 
right, and we need her to nuss John besides.” 

“ Tell you what we might do,” said Perez slowly; 
“ we might explain to her that Jerry don’t feel that 
’twould be right to think of marryin’ with Cap’n 
Baxter so sick in the house and that, if she’s willin’, 
we’ll put it off till he dies or gets better. Meantime, 
we’ll pay her so much to stay here and nuss. Seems 
to me that’s about the only way out of it.” 

So they agreed to lay this proposal before the Nan- 
tucket lady. Captain Jerry reluctantly consenting. 
Then Captain Eri took up another subject. 

John Baxter, as has been said, had one relative, a 
granddaughter, living somewhere near Boston. Cap- 
tain Eri felt that this granddaughter should be 
notified of the old man’s illness at once. The diffi- 
culty was that none of them knew the young lady’s 
address, 

“ Her fust name’s Elizabeth, same as her mother's 
was,” said Eri, “ and her dad’s name was Preston. 
They called her Elsie. John used to write to her 
every once in a while. P’raps Sam would know 
where she lived.” 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


*35 


“ Jest’ cause Sam’s postmaster,” observed Perez, 
“ it don’t foller that he reads the name on every letter 
that goes out and remembers ’em besides.” 

“ Well, if he don’t,” said Captain Jerry decidedly, 
“ Mary Emma does. She reads everything, postals 
and all.” 

Miss Mary Emma Cahoon was the assistant at the 
post-office, and was possessed of a well-developed 
curiosity concerning other people’s correspondence. 

“ Humph ! ” exclaimed Captain Eri, “ that’s so. 
We’ll write the letter, and I’ll ask Mary Emma for 
the address when I go up to mail it.” 

So Captain Perez went upstairs to take Mrs. 
Snow’s place as nurse, while that lady “ turned in.” 
Captain Jerry went into the kitchen to wash the 
dishes, and Captain Eri sat down to write the note 
that should inform Elizabeth Preston of her grand- 
father’s illness. It was a very short note, and 
merely stated the fact without further information. 
Having had some experience in that line, the Captain 
placed very little reliance upon the help to be expected 
from relatives. 

Dr. Palmer had spread the news as he went 
upon his round of visits that morning, and callers 
began to drop in to inquire after the sick man. Miss 
Busteed was one of the first arrivals, and, as Captain 


136 


CAP’N ERI 


Eri had seen her through the window, he went up- 
stairs and took Perez’ place as temporary nurse. To 
Perez, therefore, fell the delightful task of enter- 
taining the voluble female for something like an hour, 
while she talked fire, paralysis, and general gossip at 
express speed. 

Ralph Hazeltine came in a little later, and was in- 
troduced to Mrs. Snow, that lady’s nap having been 
but a short one. Ralph was favorably impressed 
with the capable appearance of the new nurse, and 
so expressed himself to Captain Eri as they walked 
together toward the post-office. 

“ I like her,” he said emphatically. “ She’s quiet 
and sensible and cheerful besides. She looks as if 
trouble didn’t trouble her very much.” 

“ I jedge she’s seen enough of it in her time, too,” 
observed the Captain reflectively. “ Queer thing 
how trouble acts different on folks. Kind of like hot 
weather, sours milk, but sweetens apples. She’s one 
of the sweetened kind. And yet, I cal’late she 
can be pretty sharp, too, if you try to tread on 
her toes. Sort of a sweet pickle, hey?” and he 
laughed. 

Miss Cahoon remembered the Preston girl’s ad- 
dress. It was Cambridge, Kirkland Street, but the 
number, she did declare, had skipped her mind. The 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


*37 


Captain said he would chance it without the number, 
so the letter was posted. Then, with the electrician, 
he strolled over to inspect the remains of the billiard 
saloon. 

There was a small crowd gathered about the build- 
ing, prominent among its members being the “ train 
committee,” who were evidently holding a special 
session on this momentous occasion. The busy 
“ Squealer,” a trifle enlivened by some of Mr. Saun- 
ders’ wet goods that had escaped the efforts of the 
volunteer salvage corps, hailed the new arrivals as 
brother heroes. 

“Well now, Cap’n Eri!” he exclaimed, shaking 
hands vigorously. “And Mr. Hazeltine, too ! 
How’re you feelin’ after last night? I says to Web, 
I says, ‘ There’s folks in this town besides me that 
kept you from losin’ the whole thing and you ought 
to thank ’em,’ I says. ‘ One of ’em ’s Cap’n Eri and 
t’other one’s Mr. Hazeltine. If we three didn’t work, 
then I don’t know,’ I says.” 

“Web found out how the fire started yit?” in- 
quired the Captain with apparent unconcern. 

“ No, he hain’t for sure. There was a lot of us 
thought old Baxter might have set it, but they tell 
me it couldn’t have been him, ’cause he was took 
down runnin’ to the fire. Web, he’s sort of changed 


CAFN ERI 


his tune, and don’t seem to think anybody set it; 
thinks it catched itself.” 

Mr. Saunders, his smooth self again, with all traces 
of mental disturbance gone from his face and all 
roughness from his tongue, came briskly up, smiling 
as if the burning of his place of business was but a 
trifling incident, a little annoying, of course, but not 
worth fretting about. He thanked the Captain and 
Hazeltine effusively for their service of the previous 
night, and piled the weight of his obligations upon 
them until, as Captain Eri said afterwards, “ the 
syrup fairly dripped off his chin.” The Captain 
broke in upon the sugary flow as soon as he could. 

“ How d’you think it started, Web? ” he asked. 

“ Well,” replied Mr. Saunders slowly, “ I kind of 
cal’late she started herself. There was some of the 
boys in here most of the evenin’, and, jest like’s not, 
a cigar butt, or a match, or somethin’ dropped some- 
wheres and got to smolderin’, and smoldered along 
till bime-by — ^puff ! ” An expressive wave of a fat 
hand finished the sentence. 

“ Humph ! ” grunted the Captain. “ Changed 
your mind sence last night. Seems to me I heard you 
then swearin’ you knew ’twas set and who set it.” 

“ Well, ye-es. I was considerable shook up last 
night and maybe I said things I hadn’t ought to. 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


139 


You see there’s been a good deal of hard feelin’s to- 
wards me in town and for a spell I thought some fel- 
ler’d tried to burn me out. But I guess not; I guess 
not. More I think of it, more I think it catched it- 
self. Seems to me I remember smellin’ sort of a 
scorchin’ smell when I was lockin’ up. Oh, say! I 
was mighty sorry to hear ’bout Cap’n Baxter bein’ 
took sick. The old man was dreadful down on 
liquor, but I laid that to his religion and never had 
no hard feelin’s against him. How’s he gittin’ 
along? ” 

Captain Eri brusquely replied that his friend was 
“ ’bout the same,” and asked if Mr. Saunders in- 
tended to rebuild. “ Web ” didn’t know just yet. 
He was a poor man, didn’t carry much insurance, and 
so on. Thought likely he should fix up again if it 
didn’t cost too much. Did the Doctor say whether 
Captain Baxter would pull through or not? 

'Captain Eri gave an evasive answer and turned 
away. He was silent for some little time, and when 
Ralph commented on “ Web’s ” overnight change of 
manner, his rejoinder was to the effect that “ ile was 
bound to rise, but that didn’t mean there wa’n’t dirty 
water underneath.” On the way home he asked 
Hazeltine concerning the trouble at the cable sta- 
tion, and how Mr. Langley had treated the matter. 


140 


CAFN ERI 


Ralph replied that Mr. Langley had said nothing 
to him about it. It was his opinion that the old gen- 
tleman understood the affair pretty well, and was not 
disposed to blame him. As for the men, they had 
been as docile as lambs, and he thought the feeling 
toward himself was not as bitter as it had been. 
All of which his companion said he was glad to 
hear. 

They separated at the gate, and the Captain en- 
tered the house to find Mrs. Snow wielding a broom 
and surrounded by a cloud of dust. Perez was up- 
stairs with the patient, and Captain Jerry, whose 
habits had been considerably upset by the sweeping, 
was out in the barn. 

That evening the situation was explained to Mrs. 
Snow by Captain Eri, in accordance with the talk at 
the breakfast table. The lady from Nantucket un- 
derstood and respected Captain Jerry’s unwillingness 
to discuss the marriage question while John Baxter’s 
condition continued critical, and she agreed to act as 
nurse and housekeeper for a while, at least, for the 
sum of six dollars a week. This price was fixed only 
after considerable discussion by the three mariners, 
for Captain Eri was inclined to offer eight, and Cap- 
tain Jerry but four. 

When Ralph Hazeltine called late in the after- 


THE HOUSEKEEPER 


141 

noon of the following day, the dining room was so 
transformed that he scarcely knew it. The dust had 
disappeared; the chronometer was polished till it 
shone; the table was covered with a cloth that was 
snow-white, and everything movable had the ap- 
pearance of being in its place. Altogether, there was 
an evidence of order that was almost startling. 

Captain Eri came to the door in response to his 
knock, and grinned appreciatively at his caller’s look 
of wonder. 

“ I don’t wonder you’re s’prised,” he said, with a 
chuckle. “ I ain’t begun to git over it yit, myself, and 
Lorenzo’s so shook up he ain’t been in the house sence 
breakfast time. He’s out in the barn, keepin’ Dan’l 
comp’ny and waitin’ for the end of the world to 
strike, I cal’late.” 

Ralph laughed. “ Mrs. Snow ? ” he inquired. 

“ Mrs. Snow,” answered the Captain. “ It beats 
all what a woman can do when she’s that kind of a 
woman. She’s done more swabbin’ decks and over- 
haulin’ runnin’ riggin’ than a new mate on a clipper. 
The place is so all-fired clean that I feel like brushin’ 
myself every time I go to set down.” 

“ How’s Captain Baxter? ” asked Hazeltine. 

“ Seems to be some better. He come to a little this 
mornin’, and seemed to know some of us, but he ain’t 


142 


CAFN ERI 


sensed where he is yit, nor I don’t b’lieve he will fur a 
spell. Set down and keep me comp’ny. It’s my watch 
jest now. Perez, he’s over to Barry’s; Jerry’s up to 
the schoolhouse, and Mrs. Snow’s run up to the post- 
office to mail a letter. John’s asleep, so I can stay 
downstairs a little while, long’s the door’s open. 
What’s the news uptown? Web changed his mind 
ag’in ’bout the fire ? ” 

It appeared that Mr. Saunders had not changed 
his mind, at least so current gossip reported. And it 
may be remarked here that, curiously enough, the 
opinion that the fire “ caught itself ” came at last to 
be generally accepted in the village. For some weeks 
Captain Eri was troubled with thoughts concerning 
the missing coat, but, as time passed, and the accusing 
garment did not turn up, he came to believe that some 
boy must have found it and that it had, in all prob- 
ability, been destroyed. There were, of course, some 
persons who still suspected John Baxter as the incen- 
diary, but the old man’s serious illness and respect 
for his former standing in the community kept these 
few silent. The Baxter house had been locked up 
and the Captain had the key. 

Hazeltine and his host chatted for a few minutes 
on various topics. The gilt titles on the imposing 
“ Lives of Great Naval Commanders,” having re- 


THE BOOK AGENT 


143 


ceived their share of the general dusting, now shone 
forth resplendent, and the Captain noticed Ralph’s 
eye as it involuntarily turned toward them. 

“Noticin’ our library?” he chuckled. “Perez’ 
property, that is. ’Gusty Black talked him into buyin’ 
’em. Never met ’Gusty, did you? No, I guess likely 
not. She lives over to the Neck, and don’t git down 
to the village much. ’Gusty’s what you call a busi- 
ness woman. She’ always up to somethin’ to make a 
dollar, and she’s as slick a talker as ever was, I guess. 
She never give Perez no rest till he signed the deed 
for them books. Told him they’d give liter’ ry tone 
to the shebang. Perez started to read ’em out loud 
when they fust come, but he had to stop so often to 
spell out the furrin names that me and Jerry used to 
go to sleep. That made him mad, and he said, liter’ ry 
tone be durned; he wa’n’t goin’ to waste his breath 
readin’ us to sleep ; so they’ve been on the shelf ever 
sence.” 

Ralph laughed. “ So you have book agents, too? ” 
he said. 

“ Well, we’ve got ’Gusty,” was the reply, “ and 
she’s enough to keep us goin’. Gits round reg’lar as 
clockwork once a month to collect the tv/o dollars 
from Perez. It’s her day now, and I told Perez that 
that was why he sneaked off to Barry’s. You see, 


144 


CAFN ERl 


’Gusty’s after him to buy the history of Methuselah, 
or some old critter, and he don’t like to see her. 
She’s after me, too, but I’m ’fraid she don’t git much 
encouragement.” 

After they had talked a little longer, the Captain 
seemed to remember something, for he glanced at his 
watch and said, “ Mr. Hazeltine, I wonder if I could 
git you to do me a favor. I really ought to go down 
and see to my shanty. Ain’t been there sence day 
afore yesterday, and there’s so many boys ’round, I’m 
’fraid to leave it unlocked much longer. I thought 
some of the folks would be back ’fore this, but if you 
could stay here long enough for me to run down there 
a minute or two. I’d be ever so much obliged. I’ll 
step up and see how John is.” 

He went upstairs and returned to report that the 
patient was quiet and seemed to be asleep. 

“If you hear him groan, or anything,” he said, 
“ jest come to the door and whistle. Whistle anyway, 
if you want me. Ain’t nobody likely to come, ’less 
it’s ’Gusty or the Reverend Perley come to ask ’bout 
John. If it’s a middlin’ good-lookin’ young woman 
with a satchel, that’s ’Gusty. Don’t whistle ; tell her 
I’m out. I’ll be back in a jiffy, but you needn’t tell 
either of them so unless your conscience hurts you too 
much.” 


THE BOOK AGENT 


HS 


After the Captain had gone Ralph took down a 
volume of the “ Great Commanders ” and sat down 
in a chair by the table to look it over. He was smil- 
ing over the gaudy illustrations and flamboyant de- 
scriptions of battles, when there was a step on the 
walk outside and knock at the door. “ Which is 
it,” he thought, “ ’Gusty or the Reverend? ” 

Obviously it was Miss Black. She stood on the 
mica slab that formed the step and looked up at him 
as he swung the door open. She had a small leather 
bag in her hand, just as the Captain had said she 
would have, but it flashed across Mr. Hazeltine’s 
mind that the rest of the description was not a fair 
one; she was certainly much more than “middlin’ 
good-lookin’ ! ” 

“ Is Captain Hedge in?” she asked. 

Now, from his friend’s hints, Ralph had expected 
to hear a rather sharp and unpleasant voice, — certain 
disagreeable remembrances of former encounters with 
female book agents had helped to form the impres- 
sion perhaps, — but Miss Black’s voice was mellow, 
quiet, and rather pleasing than otherwise. 

“ No,” said Mr. Hazeltine, obeying orders with 
exactitude. “ Captain Hedge is out just now.” 

“ ’Gusty ” — somehow the name didn’t seem to 
fit — was manifestly disappointed. 


146 


CAFN ERI 


“ Oh, dear! ” she said, and then added, “ Will he 
be back soon? ” 

Now this was a question unprovided for. Ralph 
stammered, and then miserably equivocated. He 
really couldn’t say just when the Captain would re- 
turn. 

“Oh, dear!” said the young lady again. Then 
she seemed to be waiting for some further observa- 
tion on the part of the gentleman at the door. None 
being forthcoming, she seemed to make up her mind 
to act on her own initiative. 

“ I think I will come in and wait,” she said with 
decision. And come in she did, Mr. Hazeltine not 
knowing exactly what to do, under the circum- 
stances. 

Now this was much more in keeping with the elec- 
trician’s preconceived ideas of a book agent’s be- 
havior; nevertheless, when he turned and found the 
young lady standing in the middle of the floor, he 
felt obliged to be at least decently polite. 

“Won’t you take a chair?” he asked. 

“ Thank you,” said the caller, and took one. 

The situation was extremely awkward, but Ralph 
felt that loyalty to Captain Eri forbade his doing 
anything that might urge the self-possessed Miss 
Black to prolong her visit, so for a time he said 


THE BOOK AGENT 


*47 


nothing. The young lady looked out of the window 
and Mr. Hazeltine looked at her. He was more 
than ever of the opinion that the “ middlin’ ” term 
should be cut out of her description. He rather liked 
her appearance, so he decided. He liked the way she 
wore her hair; so simple an arrangement, but so ef- 
fective. Also he liked her dress. It was the first 
tailor-made walking suit he had seen since his ar- 
rival in Orham. And worn by a country book agent, 
of all people. 

Just then Miss Black turned and caught him in- 
tently gazing at her. She colored, apparently with 
displeasure, and looked out of the window again. 
Mr. Hazeltine colored also and figeted with the 
book on the table. The situation was confoundedly 
embarrassing. He felt that he must say something 
now, so he made the original observation that it had 
been a pleasant day. 

To this the young lady agreed, but there was no 
enthusiasm in her tone. Then Ralph, nervously fish- 
ing for another topic, thought of the book in his 
hand. 

“ I was just reading this,” he said. “ I found it 
quite interesting.” 

The next moment he realized that he had said 
what, of all things, was the most impolitic. It was 


148 


CAFN ERI 


nothing less than a bid for a “ canvass,” and be fully 
expected to be confronted with the necessary order 
blanks without delay. But, strangely enough, the 
book lady made no such move. She looked at him, 
it is true, but with an expression of surprise and what 
seemed to be amusement on her face. He was certain 
that her lips twitched as she said calmly : 

“ Did you ? I am glad to hear it.” 

This dispassionate remark was entirely unexpected, 
and the electrician, as Captain Eri would have said, 
“ lost his bearings ” completely. 

“ Yes — er, yes,” he stammered. “ Very interest- 
ing indeed. I — I suppose you must take a good many 
orders in the course of a week.” 

“ A good many orders? ” 

“ Why, yes. Orders for the books, I mean. The 
books — the ‘ Great Naval Lives ’ — er — these books 
here.” 

“ I beg your pardon, but who do you think I 
am?” 

And it was then that the perception of some tre- 
mendous blunder began to seize upon Mr. Hazeltine. 
He had been red before ; now, he felt the redness 
creeping over his scalp under his hair. 

“ Why, why. Miss Black, I suppose; that is, I 

Just here the door opened and Captain Eri came 


THE BOOK AGENT 


149 


in. He took off his cap and then, seeing the visitor, 
remained standing, apparently waiting for an intro- 
duction. But the young lady did not keep him wait- 
ing long. 

“ Are you Captain Eri Hedge? ” she asked. 

“ Yes’m,” answered the Captain. 

“ Oh, I’m so glad. Your letter came this morn- 
ing, and I hurried down on the first train. I’m 
Elizabeth Preston.” 


CHAPTER IX 


ELSIE PRESTON 


^^^^^ERHAPS, on the whole, it is not sur* 

# TX # prising that Captain Eri didn’t grasp 

# K # the situation. Neither his two part- 

^™self had given much 
thought to the granddaughter of the 
sick man in the upper room. The Captain knew that 
there was a granddaughter, hence his letter; but he 
had heard John Baxter speak of her as being in school 
somewhere in Boston, and had all along conceived 
of her as a miss of sixteen or thereabouts. No 
wonder that at first he looked at the stylishly gowned 
young woman, who stood before him with one gloved 
hand extended, in a puzzled, uncomprehending way. 

“ Excuse me, ma’am,” he said slowly, mechanic- 
ally swallowing up the proffered hand in his own 
mammoth fist, “ but I don’t know’s I jest caught the 
name. Would you mind sayin’ it ag’in ? ” 

“ Elizabeth Preston,” repeated the visitor. “ Cap- 


ELSIE PRESTON 


»5i 


tain Baxter’s granddaughter. You wrote me that 
he was ill, you know, and I ” 

“ What ! ” roared the Captain, delighted amaze- 
mtiit lighting up his face like a sunrise. “ You don’t 
mean to tell me you’re ’Liz’beth Baxter’s gal Elsie! 
Well! Well! I want to know! If this don’t beat 
all! Set down! Take your things right off. I’m 
mighty glad to see you.” 

Captain Eri’s hand, with Miss Preston’s hidden in 
it, was moving up and down as if it worked by a 
clock-work arrangement. The young lady withdrew 
her fingers from the trap as soon as she conveniently 
could, but it might have been noticed that she glanced 
at them when she had done so, as if to make sure 
that the original shape remained. 

“ Thank you. Captain Hedge,” she said. “ And 
now, please tell me about grandfather. How is he? 
May I see him? ” 

The Captain’s expression changed to one of con- 
cern. 

“ Why, now. Miss Preston,” he said, “ your 
grandpa is pretty sick. Oh, I don’t mean he’s goin’ 
to die right off or anything like that,” he added 
hastily. “ I mean he’s had a stroke of palsy, or 
somethin’, and he ain’t got so yit that he senses much 
of what goes on. Now I don’t want to frighten you, 


152 


CAFN ERI 


you know, but really there’s a chance — a leetle mite 
of a chance — that he won’t know you. Don’t feel 
bad if he don’t, now will you? ” 

“ I knew he must be very ill from your letter,” 
said the girl simply. “ I was afraid that he might 
not be living when I reached here. They told me at 
the station that he was at your house and so I came. 
He has been very good to me and I ” 

Her voice broke a little and she hesitated. Cap- 
tain Eri was a picture of nervous distress. 

“ Yes, yes, I know,” he said hastily. “ Don’t you 
worry now. He’s better; the Doctor said he was 
consid’rably better to-day; didn’t he, Mr. Hazel- 
tine? Why, what am I thinkin’ of? Let me make 
you known to Mr. Hazeltine; next-door neighbor of 
ours; right acrost the road,” and he waved toward 
the bay. 

Ralph and Miss Preston shook hands. The elec- 
trician managed to utter some sort of formality, but 
he couldn’t have told what it was. He was glad 
when the Captain announced that, if Mr. Hazeltine 
would excuse them, he guessed Miss Preston and he 
would step upstairs and see John. The young lady 
took off her hat and jacket, and Captain Eri lighted 
a lamp, for it was almost dark by this time. As its 
light shone upon the visitor’s face and hair the crim- 


ELSIE PRESTON 


153 


son flush before mentioned circumnavigated the elec- 
trician’s head once more, and his bump of self- 
esteem received a finishing blow. That any man 
supposed to possess two fairly good eyes and a work- 
able brain could have mistaken her for an Orham 
Neck book agent by the name of “ ’Gusty — ’Gusty 
Black ! ” Heavens ! 

“ I’ll be down in a few minutes, Mr. Hazeltine,” 
said the Captain. “ Set still, won’t you?” 

But Mr. Hazeltine wouldn’t sit still. He an- 
nounced that it was late and he must be going. And 
go he did, in spite of his host’s protestations. 

“ Look out for the stairs,” cautioned the Captain, 
leading the way with the lamp. “ The feller that 
built ’em must have b’lieved that savin’ distance 
lengthens out life. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t 
wonder if them stairs was the reason why me and 
Jerry and Perez took this house. They reminded us 
so of the shrouds on a three-master.” 

Elsie Preston did her best to smile as her com- 
panion rattled on in this fashion, but both the smile 
and the Captain’s cheerfulness were too plainly as- 
sumed to be convincing, and they passed down the 
hall in silence. At the open door of the sick room 
Captain Eri paused. 

“ He’s asleep,” he whispered, ” and, remember, 


*54 


CAFN ERl 


if he wakes up and doesn’t know you, you needn’t 
feel bad.” 

Elsie slipped by him and knelt by the bed, looking 
into the white, old face on the pillow. Somehow the 
harsh lines had faded out of it, and it looked only 
old and pitiful. 

The Captain watched the tableau for a moment 
or two, and then tiptoed into the room and placed 
the lamp on the bureau. 

“ Now, I think likely,” he said in a rather husky 
whisper, “ that you’d like to stay with your grandpa 
for a little while, so I’ll go downstairs and see about 
supper. No, no, no ! ” he added, holding up his hand 
as the girl spoke some words of protest, “ you ain’t 
goin’ nowheres to supper. You’re goin’ to stay right 
here. If you want me, jest speak.” 

And he hurried downstairs and into the kitchen, 
clearing his throat with vigor and making a great 
to-do over the scratching of a match. 

Mrs. Snow returned a few minutes later and to her 
the news of the arrival was told, as it was also to 
Perez and Jerry when they came. Mrs. Snow took 
charge of the supper arrangements. When the meal 
was ready, she said to Captain Eri: 

“ Now, I’ll go upstairs and tell her to come down. 
I’ll stay with Cap’n Baxter till you’re through, and 


ELSIE PRESTON 


155 


then p’raps, if one of you’ll take my place, I’ll eat 
my supper and wash the dishes. You needn’t come 
up now. I’ll introduce myself.” 

Some few minutes passed before Miss Preston 
came down. When she did so her eyes were wet, 
but her manner was cheerful, and the unaffected way 
in which she greeted Captain Perez and Captain 
Jerry, when these two rather bashful mariners were 
introduced by Eri, won them at once. 

The supper was a great success. It was Saturday 
night, and a Saturday night supper to the average 
New Englander means baked beans. The captains 
had long ago given up this beloved dish, because, 
although each had tried his hand at preparing it, 
none had wholly succeeded, and the caustic criticisms 
of the other two had prevented further trials. But 
Mrs. Snow’s baked beans were a triumph. So, also, 
was the brown bread. 

“ I snum,” exclaimed Captain Perez, “ if I don’t 
b’lieve I’d sooner have these beans than turkey. 
What do you say, Jerry? ” 

“ I don’t know but I had,” assented the sacrifice, 
upon whose countenance sat a placidity that had not 
been there since the night of the “ matching.” 
“ ’Specially if the turkey was like the one we tried 
to cook last Thanksgivin’. ’Member that, Eri ? ” 


156 


CAFN ERI 


Captain Eri, his mouth full, grunted an emphatic 
assent. 

“ Tell me,” said Miss Preston, who had eaten but 
little, but was apparently getting more satisfaction 
from watching her companions, “ did you three men 
try to keep house here alone ? ” 

“ Yes,” answered Eri dryly. “We tried. First 
we thought ’twas goin’ to be fine; then we thought 
we’d like it better after we got used to it; finally we 
decided that by the time we got used to it we’d die, 
like the horse that was fed on sawdust.” 

“ And so you hired Mrs. Snow to keep house for 
you? Well, I don’t see how you could have made 
a better choice; she’s a dear, good woman; I’m sure 
of it. And now I want to thank you all for what 
you’ve done for grandfather. Mrs. Snow told me 

all about it; you’ve been so kind that I ” 

“ That’s all right ! that’s all right ! ” hastily inter- 
rupted Captain Eri. “ Pity if we couldn’t help out 
a shipmate we’ve sailed with for years and years. 
But you’d ought to have tried some of our cookin’. 
Tell her about the sugar cake you made, Perez. The 
one that killed the yaller chicken.” 

So Captain Perez told it, and then their visitor set 
them all laughing by relating some queer house- 
keeping experiences that she and a school friend had 


ELSIE PRESTON 


»57 


had while camping at Chautauqua. Somehow each 
one felt at home with her. As Captain Eri said 
afterwards, “ She didn’t giggle, and then ag’in she 
didn’t talk down at you.” 

As they rose from the table the young lady asked 
a question concerning the location of the hotel. The 
Captain made no answer at the time, but after a 
short consultation with the remainder of the trium- 
virate, he came to her as she stood by the window 
and, laying his hand on her shoulder, said: 

“ Now, Elsie — I hope you don’t mind my callin’ 
you Elsie, but I’ve been chums with your grandpa so 
long seems’s if you must be a sort of relation of mine 
— Elsie, you ain’t goin’ to no hotel, that is, unless 
you’re real set on it. Your grandpa’s here and we’re 
here, and there’s room enough. I don’t want to say 
too much, but I’d like to have you b’lleve that me 
and Perez and Jerry want you to stay right in this 
house jest as long’s you stop in Orham. Now you 
will, won’t you ? ” 

And so it was settled, and Captain Perez har- 
nessed Daniel and went to the station for the trunk. 

That evening, just before going to bed, the cap- 
tains stood by the door of the sick room watching 
Elsie and the lady from Nantucket as they sat beside 
John Baxter’s bed. Mrs. Snow was knitting, and 


158 


CAFN ERI 


Elsie was reading. Later, as Captain Eri peered out 
of the dining-room window to take a final look at 
the sky in order to get a line on the weather, he said 
slowly : 

“ Fellers, do you know what I was thinkin’ when 
I see them two women in there with John? I was 
thinkin’ that it must be a mighty pleasant thing to 
know that if you’re took sick somebody like that ’ll 
take care of you.” 

Perez nodded. “ I think so, too,” he said. 

But if this was meant to influence the betrothed 
one, it didn’t succeed, apparently, for all Captain 
Jerry said was : 

“ Humph I ’Twould take more than that to make 
me hanker after a stroke of palsy.” 

And with the coming of Elsie Preston and Mrs. 
Snow life in the little house by the shore took on a 
decided change. The Nantucket lady having satis- 
fied herself that John Baxter’s illness was likely to 
be a long one, wrote several letters to persons in her 
native town, which letters, although she did not say 
so, were supposed by the captains to deal with the 
care of her property while she was away. Having 
apparently relieved her mind by this method, and 
evidently considering the marriage question post- 


ELSIE PRESTON 


159 


poned for the present, she settled down to nurse the 
sick man and to keep house as, in her opinion, a 
house should be kept. The captains knew nothing 
of her past history beyond what they had gathered 
from stray bits of her conversation. She evi- 
dently did not consider it necessary to tell anything 
further, and, on the other hand, asked no ques- 
tions. 

In her care of Baxter she was more like a sister 
than a hired nurse. No wife could have been more 
tender in her ministrations or more devotedly anxious 
for the patient’s welfare. 

In her care of the house, she was neatness itself. 
She scoured and swept and washed until the rooms 
were literally spotless. Order was Heaven’s first 
law, in her opinion, and she expected everyone else 
to keep up to the standard. Captain Perez and Cap- 
tain Eri soon got used to the change and gloried in 
it, but to Captain Jerry it was not altogether 
welcome. 

“Oh, cat’s foot!” he exclaimed one day, after 
hunting everywhere for his Sunday tie, and at length 
finding it in his bureau drawer. “ I can’t git used 
to this everlastin’ spruced-up bus’ness. Way it used 
to be, this necktie was likely to be ’most anywheres 
’round, and if I looked out in the kitchen or under 


i6o 


CAFN ERI 


the sofy, I was jest as likely to find it. But now 
everything’s got a place and is in it.” 

“Well, that’s the way it ought to be, ain’t it?” 
said Eri. “ Then all you’ve got to do is look in the 
place.” 

“ Yes, and that’s jest it, I’m always forgittin’ the 
place. My shoes is sech a place; my hankerchers is 
sech a place; my pipe is sech a place; my terbacker 
is another place. When I want my pipe I look where 
my shoes is, and when I want my shoes I go and look 
where I found my pipe. How a feller’s goin’ to 
keep run of ’em is what / can’t see.” 

“ You was the one that did most of the growlin’ 
when things was the old way.” 

“ Yes, but jest ’cause a man don’t want to live in 
a pigpen it ain’t no sign he wants to be put under a 
glass case.” 

Elsie’s influence upon the house and its inmates 
had become almost as marked as Mrs. Snow’s. The 
young lady was of an artistic bent, and the stiff orna- 
ments in the shut-up parlor and the wonderful oil- 
paintings jarred upon her. Strange to say, even the 
wax-dipped wreath that hung in its circular black 
frame over the whatnot did not appeal to her. The 
captains considered that wreath — it had been the 
principal floral offering at the funeral of Captain 


ELSIE PRESTON 


i6i 


Perez’s sister, and there was a lock of her hair framed 
with it — the gem of the establishment. They could 
understand, to a certain degree, why Miss Preston 
objected to the prominence given the spatter-work 
“ God bless our Home ” motto, but her failure to 
enthuse over the wreath was inexplicable. 

But by degrees they became used to seeing the 
blinds open at the parlor windows the week through, 
and innovations like muslin curtains and vases filled 
with late wild flowers came to be at first tolerated 
and then liked. “ Elsie’s notions,” the captains 
called them. 

There were some great discussions on art, over the 
teacups after supper. Miss Preston painted very 
prettily in water-colors, and her sketches were re- 
ceived with enthusiastic praise by the captains and 
Mrs. Snow. But one day she painted a little picture 
of a fishing boat and, to her surprise, it came in for 
some rather sharp criticism. 

“ That’s a pretty picture, Elsie,” said Captain Eri, 
holding the sketch at arm’s length and squinting at 
it with his head on one side, “ but if that’s Caleb 
Titcomb’s boat, and I jedge ’tis, it seems to me she’s 
carryin’ too much sail. What do you think, Jerry? ” 

Captain Jerry took the painting from his friend 
and critically examined it, also at arm’s length. 


i 62 


CAP’N ERI 


“ Caleb’s boat ain’t got no sech sail as that,” was 
his deliberate comment. “ She couldn’t carry it and 
stand up that way. Besides, the way I look at it, 
she’s down by the head more ’n she’d ought to be.” 

“ But I didn’t try to get it exactly right,” said the 
bewildered artist. “ The boat’s sails were so white, 
and the water was so blue, and the sand so yelloAv 
that I thought it made a pretty picture. I didn’t 
think of the size of the sail.” 

“ Well, I s’pose you wouldn’t, nat’rally,” observed 
Captain Perez, who was looking over Jerry’s shoul- 
der. “ But you have to be awful careful paintin’ 
vessels. Now you jest look at that picture,” pointing 
to the glaring likeness of the Flying Duck, that hung 
on the wall. “ Jest look at them sails, every one of 
’em drawin’ fine; and them ropes, every one in jest 
the right place. That’s what I call paintin’.” 

“ But don’t you think. Captain Perez, that the 
waves in that picture would be better if they weren’t 
so all in a row, like a picket fence ? ” 

“ Well, now, that ain’t it. That’s a picture of the 
A I two-masted schooner Flyin' Duck, and the waves 
is only thrown in, as you might say. The reel thing 
is the schooner, rigged jest right, trimmed jest right, 
and colored jest the way the Flyin’ Duck was colored. 
You understand them waves was put there jest ’cause 


ELSIE PRESTON 


163 


there had to be some to set the schooner in, that’s 
all.” 

“ But you needn’t feel bad, Elsie,” said Captain 
Jerry soothingly. “ ’Tain’t to be expected that you 
could paint vessels like Eben Lothrop can. Eben he 
used to work in a shipyard up to East Boston once, 
and when he was there he had to paint schooners 
and things, reely put the paint onto ’em I mean, so, 
of course, when it come to paintin’ pictures of ’em, 
why ” 

And Captain Jerry waved his hand. 

So, as there was no answer to an argument like 
this. Miss Preston gave up marine painting for the 
time and began a water-color of the house and its 
inmates. This was an elaborate affair, and as the 
captains insisted that each member of the family, 
Daniel and Lorenzo included, should pose, it seemed 
unlikely to be finished for some months, at least. 

Ralph Hazeltine called on the afternoon follow- 
ing Elsie’s arrival, and Captain Eri insisted on his 
staying to tea. It might have been noticed that the 
electrician seemed a trifle embarrassed when Miss 
Preston came into the room, but as the young lady 
was not embarrassed in the least, and had apparently 
forgotten the mistaken-identity incident, his nervous- 
ness soon wore off. 


164 


CAFN ERI 


But it came back again when Captain Eri said : 

“ Oh, I say, Mr. Hazeltine, I forgot to ask you, 
did ’Gusty come yesterday? ” 

Ralph answered, rather hurriedly, that she did not. 
He endeavored to change the subject, but the Cap- 
tain wouldn’t let him. 

“ Well, there ! ” he exclaimed amazedly ; “ if ’Gusty 
ain’t broke her record! Fust time sence Perez was 
took with the ‘ Naval Commander ’ disease that she 
ain’t been on hand when the month was up, to git her 
two dollars. Got so we sort of reckoned by her like 
an almanac. Kind of thought she was sure, like 
death and taxes. And now she has gone back on us. 
Blessed if I ain’t disapp’inted in ’Gusty! ” 

“ Who is she ? ” inquired Mrs. Snow. “ One of 
those book-agent critters? ” 

“ Well, if you called her that to her face, I expect 
there’d be squalls, but I cal’late she couldn’t prove 
a alibi in court.” 

Now it may have been Mr. Hazeltine’s fancy, but 
he could have sworn that there was just the suspicion 
of a twinkle in Miss Preston’s eye as she asked, inno- 
cently enough: 

“ Is she a young lady. Captain Eri? ” 

“ Well, she hopes she is,” was the deliberate an- 
swer. “Why?” 


ELSIE PRESTON 


i6s 

“ Does she look like me ? ” 

“Like youf Oh, my soul and body! Wait till 
you see her. What made you ask that? ” 

“ Oh, nothing ! I was a little curious, that’s all. 
Have you seen her, Mr. Hazeltine? ” 

Ralph stammered, somewhat confusedly, that he 
hadn’t had the pleasure. The Captain glanced from 
the electrician to Miss Preston and back again. 
Then he suddenly realized the situation. 

“ Ho! ho ! ” he roared, slapping his knee and rock- 
ing back and forth in his chair. “ Don’t for the 
land’s sake tell me you took Elsie here for ’Gusty 
Black ! Don’t now ! Don’t ! ” 

“ He asked me if I had taken many orders,” re- 
marked the young lady demurely. 

When the general hilarity had abated a little 
Ralph penitently explained that it was dark, that 
Captain Eri had said Miss Black was young, and that 
she carried a bag. 

“ So I did, so I did,” chuckled the Captain. “ I 
s’pose ’twas nat’ral enough, but, oh dear, it’s awful 
funny! Now, Elsie, you’d ought to feel flattered. 
Wait till you see ’Gusty’s hat, the one she got up to 
Boston.” 

“Am I forgiven. Miss Preston?” asked Hazel- 
tine, as he said good-night. 


i66 


CAFN ERl 


“ Well, I don’t know,” was the rather non-com- 
mittal answer. “ I think I shall have to wait until 
I see ’Gusty.” 

But Mr. Hazeltine apparently took his forgive- 
ness for granted, for his calls became more and more 
frequent, until his dropping in after supper came to 
be a regular occurrence. Young people of the better 
class arc scarce in Orham during the fall and winter 
months, and Ralph found few congenial companions. 
He liked the captains and Mrs. Snow, and Elsie’s 
society was a relief after a day with the operators at 
the station. Mr. Langley was entirely absorbed in 
his business, and spent his evenings in his room, 
reading and smoking. 

So September and October passed and November 
came. School opened in October and the captains 
had another boarder, for Josiah Bartlett, against his 
wishes, gave up his position as stage-driver, and was 
sent to school again. As the boy was no longer em- 
ployed at the livery stable. Captain Perez felt the 
necessity of having him under his eye, and so Josiah 
lived at the house by the shore, a cot being set up in 
the parlor for his use. His coming made more work 
for Mrs. Snow, but that energetic lady did not seem 
to mind, and even succeeded in getting the youngster 
to do a few “ chores ” about the place, an achieve- 


ELSIE PRESTON 


167 


ment that won the everlasting admiration of Captain 
Perez, who had no governing power whatever over 
the boy, and condoned the most of his faults or 
scolded him feebly for the others, 

John Baxter continued to waver between this world 
and the next. He had intervals of consciousness in 
which he recognized the captains and Elsie, but these 
rational moments were few and, although he talked a 
little, he never mentioned recent events nor alluded 
to the fire. 

The fire itself becamse an old story and gossip took 
up other subjects. Tbs “ Come-Outers ” held a jubi- 
lee service because of the destruction of the saloon, 
but, as “ Web ” soon began to rebuild and repair, 
their jollification was short-lived. As for Mr. Saun- 
ders, he was the same unctuous, smiling personage 
that he had formerly been. It was a curious fact, 
and one that Captain Eri noted, that he never ceased 
to inquire after John Baxter’s health, and seemed 
honestly glad to hear of the old man’s improvement. 
He asked a good many questions about Elsie, too, but 
received little satisfaction from the Captain on this 
subject. 


CHAPTER X 


MATCHMAKING AND LIFE-SAVING 


^###^ APT AIN JERRY sat behind the 
^ ^ woodshed, in the sunshine, smoking 

# I ■ # and thinking. He had done a good 

^###^ teen years old; the second was, in a 
measure, a more recent acquirement. The Captain 
had things on his mind. 

It was one of those perfect, springlike mornings 
that sometimes come in early November. The sky 
was clear blue, and the air was so free from haze that 
the houses at Cranberry Point could be seen in every 
detail. The flag on the cable station across the bay 
stood out stiff in the steady breeze, and one might 
almost count the stripes. The pines on oignal Hill 
were a bright green patch against the yellow grass. 
The sea was a dark sapphire, with slashes of silver to 
mark the shoals, and the horizon was notched with 


MATCHMAKING 


169 


sails. The boats at anchor in front of the shanties 
swung with the outgoing tide. 

Then came Captain Eri, also smoking. 

“ Hello ! ” said Captain Jerry. “ How is it you 
ain’t off fishin’ a mornin’ like this? ” 

“ Somethin’ else on the docket,” was the answer. 
“ How’s matchmakin’ these days? ” 

Now this question touched vitally the subject of 
Captain Jerry’s thoughts. From a placid, easy- 
going retired mariner, recent events had transformed 
the Captain into a plotter, a man with a “ deep-laid 
scheme,” as the gentlemanly, cigarette-smoking vil- 
lain of the melodrama used to love to call it. To tell 
the truth, petticoat government was wearing on him. 
The marriage agreement, to which his partners con- 
sidered him bound, and which he saw no way to 
evade, hung over him always, but he had put this 
threat of the future from his mind so far as possible. 
He had not found orderly housekeeping the joy that 
he once thought it would be, but even this he could 
bear. Elsie Preston was the drop too much. 

He liked Mrs. Snow, except in a marrying sense. 
He liked Elsie better than any young lady he had ever 
seen. The trouble was, that between the two, he, as 
he would have expressed it, “ didn’t have the peace 
of a dog.” 


170 


CAP'N ERI 


Before Elsie came, a game of checkers between 
Perez and himself had been the regular after-supper 
amusement. Now they played whist, Captain Eri 
and Elsie against him and his former opponent. As 
Elsie and her partner almost invariably won, and as 
Perez usually found fault with him because they lost, 
this was not an agreeable change. But it was but one. 
He didn’t like muslin curtains in his bedroom, be- 
cause they were a nuisance when he wanted to sit up 
in bed and look out of the window; but the curtains 
were put there, and everybody else seemed to think 
them beautiful, so he could not protest. Captain 
Perez and Captain Eri had taken to “ dressing up ” 
for supper, to the extent of putting on neckties and 
clean collars. Also they shaved every day. He stuck 
to the old “ twice-a-week ” plan for a while, but 
looked so scrubby by contrast that out of mere self- 
respect he had to follow suit. Obviously two females 
in the house were one too many. Something had to 
be done. 

Ralph Hazeltine’s frequent calls gave him the in- 
spiration he was looking for. This was to bring 
about a marriage between Ralph and Miss Preston. 
After deliberation he decided that if this could be 
done the pair would live somewhere else, even though 
John Baxter was still too ill to be moved. Elsie could 


MATCHMAKING 


171 


come in every day, but she would be too busy with 
her own establishment to bother with the “ improve- 
ment ” of theirs. It wasn’t a very brilliant plan and 
had some vital objections, but Captain Jerry consid- 
ered it a wonder. 

He broached it to his partners, keeping his real 
object strictly in the background and enlarging upon 
his great regard for Ralph and Elsie, and their 
obvious fitness for each other. Captain Perez liked 
the scheme well enough, provided it could be carried 
out. Captain Eri seemed to think it better to let 
events take their own course. However, they both 
agreed to help if the chance offered. 

So, when Mr. Hazeltine called to spend the even- 
ing, Captain Jerry would rise from his chair and, 
with an elaborate cough and several surreptitious 
winks to his messmates, would announce that he 
guessed he would “ take a little walk,” or “ go out 
to the barn,” or something similar. Captain Perez 
would, more than likely, go also. As for Captain 
Eri, he usually “ cal’lated ” he would step upstairs, 
and see how John was getting along. 

But in spite of this loyal support, the results ob- 
tained from Captain Jerry’s wonderful plan had not 
been so startlingly successful as to warrant his feeling 
much elated. Ralph and Elsie were good friends 


172 


CAFN ERl 


and seemed to enjoy each other's society, but that was 
all that might be truthfully said, so far. 

Captain Jerry, therefore, was a little discouraged 
as he sat in the sunshine and smoked and pondered. 
He hid his discouragement, however, and in response 
to Captain Eri’s question concerning the progress of 
the matchmaking, said cheerfully: 

“ Oh, it’s cornin’ along, cornin’ along. Kind of 
slow, of course, but you can’t expect nothin’ diff’rent. 
I s’pose you noticed he was here four times last 
week? ” 

“ Why, no,”/ said Captain Eri, “ I don’t know’s I 
did.” 

” Well, he was, and week afore that ’twas only 
three. So that’s a gain, ain’t it? ” 

“ Sartin.” 

“ I didn’t count the time he stopped after a drink 
of water neither. That wasn’t a real call, 
but ” 

“ Oh, it ought to count for somethin’ ! Call it 
a ha’f a time. That would make four times and a 
ha’f he was here.” 

Captain Jerry looked suspiciously at his friend’s 
face, but its soberness was irreproachable, so he 
said: 

“ Well, it’s kind of slow work, but, as I said afore. 


MATCHMAKING 


*73 


it’s cornin’ along, and I have the satisfaction of 
knowin’ it’s all for their good.” 

‘‘Yes, like the feller that ate all the apple-dum- 
plin’s so’s his children wouldn’t have the stomach- 
ache. But say, Jerry, I come out to ask if you’d 
mind bein’ housekeeper to-day. Luther Davis has 
been after me sence I don’t know when to come down 
to the life-savin’ station and stay to dinner. His 
sister Pashy — the old maid one — is down there, and 
it’s such a fine day I thought I’d take Perez and 
Elsie and Mrs. Snow and, maybe, Hazeltine along. 
Somebody’s got to stay with John, and I thought 
p’raps you would. I’d stay myself only Luther asked 
me so particular, and you was down there two or 
three months ago. When Josiah comes back from 
school he’ll help you some, if you need him.” 

Captain Jerry didn’t mind staying at home, and so 
Eri went into the house to make arrangements for 
the proposed excursion. He had some difficulty in 
persuading Mrs. Snow and Elsie to leave the sick 
man, but both were tired and needed a rest, and there 
was a telephone at the station, so that news of a 
change in the patient’s condition could be sent almost 
immediately. Under these conditions, and as Cap- 
tain Jerry was certain to take good care of their 
charge, the two were persuaded to go. Perez took 


174 


CAFN ERI 


the doi’y and rowed over to the cable station to see if 
Mr. Hazeltine cared to make one of the party. 
When he returned, bringing the electrician with him, 
Daniel, harnessed to the carryall, was standing at the 
side door, and Captain Eri, Mrs. Snow, and Elsie 
were waiting. 

Ralph glanced at the carryall, and then at those 
who were expected to occupy It. 

“ I think I’d better row down. Captain,” he said. 
“ I don’t see how five of us are going to find room in 
there.” 

“What, in a carryall?” exclaimed the Captain. 
“ Why, that’s what a carryall’s for. I’ve carried six 
in a carryall ’fore now. ’Twas a good while ago, 
though,” he added with a chuckle, “ when I was con- 
sid’rable younger ’n I am now. Squeezin’ didn’t count 
in them days, ’specially if the girls wanted to go to 
camp-meetin’. I cal’late we can fix it. You and me’ll 
set on the front seat, and the rest in back. Elsie 
ain’t a very big package, and Perez, he’s sort of injy- 
rubber; he’ll fit in ’most anywheres. Let’s try it 
anyhow.” 

And try it they did. While It was true that Elsie 
was rather small, Mrs. Snow was distinctly large, and 
how Captain Perez, in spite of his alleged elasticity, 
managed to find room between them is. a mystery. 


MATCHMAKING 


175 


He, however, announced that he was all right, add- 
ing, as a caution : 

“ Don’t jolt none, Eri, ’cause I’m kind of hangin’ 
on the little aidge of nothin’.” 

“ I’ll look out for you,” answered his friend, pick- 
ing up the reins. “ All ashore that’s goin’ ashore. 
So long, Jerry. Git dap. Thousand Dollars ! ” 

Daniel complacently accepted this testimony to his 
monetary worth and jogged out of the yard. For- 
tunately appearances do not count for much in Or- 
ham, except in the summer, and the spectacle of five 
in a carryall is nothing out of the ordinary. They 
turned into the “ cliff road,” the finest thoroughfare 
in town, kept in good condition for the benefit of the 
cottagers and the boarders at the big hotel. The 
ocean was on the left, and from the hill by the Barry 
estate — Captain Perez’ charge — they saw twenty 
miles of horizon line with craft of all descriptions 
scattered along it. 

Schooners there were of all sizes, from little mack- 
erel seiners to big four- and five-masters. A tug with 
a string of coal barges behind it was so close in that 
they could make out the connecting hawsers. A black 
freight steamer was pushing along, leaving a thick 
line of smoke like a charcoal mark on the sky. One 
square-rigger was in sight, but far out 


176 


CAFN ERI 


“What do you make of that bark, Perez?” in- 
quired Captain Eri, pointing to the distant vessel. 
“ British, ain’t she? ” 

Captain Perez leaned forward and peered from 
under his hand. “ French, looks to me,” he said. 

“ Don’t think so. Way she’s rigged for’ard looks 
like Johnny Bull. Look at that fo’tops’l.” 

“ Guess you’re right, Eri, now I come to notice it. 
Can you make out her flag? Wish Fd brought my 
glass.” 

“ Great Scott, man ! ” exclaimed Ralph. “ What 
sort of eyes have you got? I couldn’t tell whether 
she had a flag or not at this distance. How do you 
do it?” 

“ ’Cordin’ to how you’re brought up, as the goat 
said ’bout eatin’ shingle-nails,” replied Captain Eri. 
“ When you’re at sea you’ve jest got to git used to 
seein’ things a good ways off and knowin’ ’em when 
you see ’em, too.” 

“ I remember, one time,” remarked Mrs. Snow, 
“ that my brother Nathan — he’s dead now — was 
bound home from Hong Kong fust mate on the bark 
Diamond King. ’Twas the time of the war and the 
Alabama was cruisin’ ’round, lookin’ out for our ships. 
Nate and the skipper — a Bangor man he was — was 
on deck, and they sighted a steamer a good ways olL 


LIFE-SAVING 


177 


The skipper spied her and see she was flyin’ the 
United States flag. But when Nate got the glass he 
took one look and says, ‘ That Yankee buntin’ don’t 
b’long over that English hull,’ he says. You see he 
knew she was English build right away. So the 
skipper pulled down his own flag and h’isted British 
colors, but ’twa’n’t no use; the steamer was the 
Alabama sure enough, and the Di’mond King was 
burned, and all hands took pris’ners. Nate didn’t 
git home for ever so long, and everybody thought he 
was lost.” 

This set the captains going, and they told sea- 
stories until they came to the road that led down to 
the beach beneath the lighthouse bluff. The life- 
saving station was in plain sight now, but on the outer 
beach, and that was separated from them by a two- 
hundred-yard stretch of water. 

“ Well,” observed Captain Eri, “ here’s where we 
take Adam’s bridge.” 

“Adam’s bridge?” queried Elsie, puzzled. 

“ Yes; the only kind he had, I cal’late. Git dap, 
Daniel! What are you waitin’ for? Left your 
bathin’ suit to home? ” 

Then, as Daniel stepped rather gingerly into the 
clear water, he explained that, at a time ranging from 
three hours before low tide to three hours after, one 


178 


CAFN ERI 


may reach the outer beach at this point by driving 
over in an ordinary vehicle. The life-savers add 
to this time-limit by using a specially built wagon, 
with large wheels and a body considerably ele- 
vated. 

“ Well, there now ! ” exclaimed the lady from 
Nantucket, as Daniel splashingly emerged on the 
other side. “ I thought I’d done about everything a 
body could do with salt water, but I never went ridin’ 
in it afore.” 

The remainder of the way to the station was cov- 
ered by Daniel at a walk, for the wheels of the heavy 
carryall sank two inches or more in the coarse sand 
as they turned. The road wound between sand dunes, 
riven and heaped in all sorts of queer shapes by the 
wind, and with clumps of the persevering beach grass 
clinging to their tops like the last treasured tufts of 
hair on partially bald heads. Here and there, half 
buried, sand-scoured planks and fragments of spars 
showed, relics of wrecks that had come ashore in past 
winters. 

“ Five years ago,” remarked Captain Eri, “ there 
was six foot of water where we are now. This beach 
changes every winter. One good no’theaster jest 
rips things loose over here; tears out a big chunk of 
beach and makes a cut-through one season, and fills 


LIFE-SAVING 


*79 


in a deep hok and builds a new shoal the next. I’ve 
heard my father tell ’bout pickin’ huckleberries when 
he was a boy off where them breakers arc now. Good 
dry land it was then. Hey! there’s Luther. Ship 
ahoy, .Lute ! ” 

The little brown life-saving station was huddled 
between two sand-hills. There was a small stable 
and a henhouse and yard just behind it. Captain 
Davis, rawboned and brown-faced, waved a welcome 
to them from the side door. 

“ Spied you cornin’, Eri,” he said in a curiously 
mild voice, that sounded odd coming from such a deep 
chest. “I’m mighty glad to see you, too? Jump 
down and come right in. Pashy ’ll be out in a 
minute. Here she is now.” 

Miss Patience Davis was as plump as her brother 
was tall. She impressed one as a comfortable sort of 
person. Captain Eri did the honors and everyone 
shook hands. Then they went into the living room 
of the station. 

What particularly struck Mrs. Snow was the neat- 
ness of everything. The brass on the pump in the 
sink shone like fire as the sunlight from the window 
struck it. The floor was white from scouring. There 
were shelves on the walls and on these, arranged 
in orderly piles, were canned goods of all descrip- 


i8o 


CAFN ERI 


tions. The table was covered with a figured oil- 
cloth. 

Two or three men, members of the crew, were 
seated in the wooden chairs along the wall, but rose 
as the party came in. Captain Davis introduced 
them, one after the other. Perhaps the most striking 
characteristic of these men was the quiet, almost 
bashful, way in which they spoke; they seemed like 
big boys, as much as anything, and yet the oldest was 
nearly fifty. 

“ Ever been in a life-saving station afore? ” asked 
Captain Eri. 

Elsie had not. Ralph had and so had Mrs. Snow, 
but not for years. 

“ This is where we keep the boat and the rest of 
the gear,” said Captain Davis, opening a door and 
leading the way into a large, low-studded room. 
“ Them’s the spare oars on the wall. The I'eg’lar 
ones are in the boat.” 

The boat itself was on its carriage in the middle 
of the room. Along the walls on hooks hung the 
men’s suits of oilskins and their sou’westers. The 
Captain pointed out one thing after another, the cork 
jackets and life-preservers, the gun for shooting the 
life line across a stranded vessel, the life car hang- 
ing from the roof, and the “ breeches buoy.” 


LIFE-SAVING 


i8i 


“ I don’t b’lieve you’d ever git me into that thing,” 
said the Nantucket lady decidedly, referring to the 
buoy. “ I don’t know but I’d ’bout as llefs be 
drownded as make sech a show of myself.” 

^ “ Took off a bigger woman than you one time,” 

said Captain Davis. “ Wife of a Portland skipper, 
she was, and he was on his fust v’yage in a brand- 
new schooner jest off the stocks. Struck on the Hog’s 
Back off here and then drifted close in and struck 
again. We got ’em all, the woman fust. That was 
the only time we’ve used the buoy sence I’ve been at 
the station. Most of the wrecks are too fur off shore 
and we have to git out the boat.” 

He took them upstairs to the men’s sleeping rooms 
and then up to the little cupola on the roof. 

“ Why do you have ground-glass windows on this 
side of the house ? ” asked Elsie, as they passed the 
window on the landing. 

Captain Davis laughed. 

“ Well, it is pretty nigh ground-glass now,” he 
answered, “ but it wa’n’t when It was put In. The 
sand did that. It blows like all possessed when 
there’s a gale on.” 

“ Do you mean that those windows were ground 
that way by the beach sand blowing against them? ” 
asked Ralph, astonished. 


i 82 


CAFN ERI 


“ Sartin. Git a good no’therly wind cornin’ up 
the beach and it fetches the sand with it. Mighty 
mean stuff to face, sand blowin’ like that is; makes 
you think you’re fightin’ a nest of yaller-jackets.” 

With the telescope in the cupola they could see for 
miles up and down the beach and out to sea. An 
ocean tug bound toward Boston was passing, and 
Elsie, looking through the glass, saw the cook come 
out of the galley, empty a pan over the side, and go 
back again. 

“ Let me look through that a minute,” said Cap- 
tain Eri, when the rest had had their turn. He 
swung the glass around until it pointed toward their 
home away up the shore. 

“ Perez,” he called anxiously, “ look here quick! ” 

Captain Perez hastily put his eye to the glass, and 
his friend went on: 

“ You see our house? ” he said. “ Yes; well, you 
see the dinin’-room door. Notice that chair by the 
side of it? ” 

“ Yes, what of it? ” 

“ Well, that’s the rocker that Elsie made the velvet 
cushion for. I want you to look at the upper south- 
east corner of that cushion, and see if there ain’t a 
cat’s hair there. Lorenzo’s possessed to sleep in 
that chair, and ” 


LIFE-SAVING 183 

“ Oh, you git out ! ” indignantly exclaimed Cap% 
tain Perez, straightening up. 

“ Well, it was a pretty important thing, and I 
wanted to make sure. I left that chair out there, 
and I knew what I’d catch if any cat’s hairs got on 
that cushion while I was gone. Ain’t that so, Mrs. 
Snow ? ” 

The housekeeper expressed her opinion that 
Captain Eri was a “ case,” whatever that may 
be. 

They had clam chowder for dinner — a New Eng- 
land clam chowder, made with milk and crackers, 
and clams with shells as white as snow. They were 
what the New Yorker calls “ soft-shell ” clams, for 
a Fulton Market chowder is a “ quahaug soup ” to 
the native of the Cape. 

Now that chowder was good; everybody said so, 
and if the proof of the chowder, like that of the 
pudding, is in the eating of it, this one had a clear 
case. Also, there were boiled striped bass, which is 
good enough for anybody, hot biscuits, pumpkin pie, 
and beach-plum preserves. There was a running 
fire of apologies from Miss Patience and answering 
volleys of compliments from Mrs. Snow. 

“ I don’t see how you make sech beach-plum pre- 
serves, Miss Davis,” exclaimed the lady from NaR-- 


184 


CAP’N ERI 


tucket. “ I declare ! I’m goin’ to ask you for an- 
other sasserful. I b’lieve they’re the best I ever 
ate.” 

“Well, now! Do you think so? I kind of sus- 
pected that the plums was a little mite too ripe. 
You know how ’tis with beach-plums, they’ve got to 
be put up when they’re jest so, else they ain’t good 
for much. I was at Luther for I don’t know how 
long ’fore I could git him to go over to the P’int and 
pick ’em, and I was ’fraid he’d let it go too long. I 
only put up twenty-two jars of ’em on that account. 
How much sugar do you use ? ” 

There was material here for the discussion that 
country housewives love, and the two ladies took 
advantage of it. When it was over the female por- 
tion of the company washed the dishes, while the men 
walked up and down the beach and smoked. Here 
they were joined after a while by the ladies, for even 
by the ocean it was as mild as early May, and 
the wind was merely bracing and had no sting 
in it. 

The big blue waves shouldered themselves up from 
the bosom of the sea, marched toward the beach, and 
tumbled to pieces in a roaring tumult of white and 
green. The gulls skimmed along their tops or 
dropped like falling stones into the water after sand 


LIFE-SAVING 


1 8s 


eels, emerging again, screaming, to repeat the per- 
formance. 

The conversation naturally turned to wrecks, and 
Captain Davis, his reserve vanishing before the tact- 
ful inquiries of the captains and Ralph, talked shop 
and talked it well. 


CHAPTER XI 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


% 


^###^ OTHER DAVIS had been comman- 
# X # dant at the life-saving station for years 
I . ^ and “ Number One Man ” before 
^ that, so his experience with wrecks 
and disabled craft of all kinds had 
been long and varied. He told them of disasters the 
details of which had been telegraphed all over the 
country, and of rescues of half-frozen crews from 
ice-crested schooners whose signals of distress had 
been seen from the observatory on the roof of the 
station. He told of long rows in midwinter through 
seas the spray of which turned to ice as they struck, 
and froze the men’s mittens to the oar-handles. He 
told of picking up draggled corpses in the surf at 
midnight, when, as he said, “You couldn’t tell 
whether ’twas a man or a roll of seaweed, and the 
only way to make sure was to reach down and feel.’’ 

Captain Eri left them after a while, as he had 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


187 


some acquaintances among the men at the station, 
and wished to talk with them. Miss Davis remem- 
bered that she had not fed the chickens, and hurried 
away to perform that humane duty, gallantly es- 
corted by Captain Perez. The Captain, by the way, 
was apparently much taken with the plump spinster 
and, although usually rather bashful where ladies 
were concerned, had managed to keep up a sort of 
side conversation with Miss Patience while the story- 
telling was going on. But Ralph and Elsie and 
Mrs. Snow were hungry for more tales, and Captain 
Davis obligingly told them. 

“ One of the wust wrecks we ever had off here,” 
he said, “was the Bluebell, British ship, she was: 
from Singapore, bound to Boston, and loaded with 
hemp. We see her about off that p’int there, jest 
at dusk, and she was makin’ heavy weather then. 
It come on to snow soon as it got dark, and blow — 
don’t talk! Seems to me ’twas one of the meanest 
nights I ever saw. ’Tween the snow flyin’ and the 
dark you couldn’t see two feet ahead of you. We 
was kind of worried about the vessel all evenin’ — 
for one thing she was too close in shore when we 
see her last — but there wa’n’t nothin’ to be done 
except to keep a weather eye out for signs of trouble. 

“Fust thing we knew of the wreck was when the 


i88 


CAFN ERI 


man on patrol up the beach — Philander Vose ’twas 
— telephoned from the shanty that a ship’s long- 
boat had come ashore at Knowles’ Cove, two mile 
above the station. That was about one o’clock in 
the mornin’. ’Bout h’af-past two Sim Gould — he 
was drownded the next summer, fishin’ on the Bar^ 
— telephoned from the shanty below the station — 
the one a mile or so ’tother side of the cable house, 
Mr. Hazeltine — that wreckage was washin’ up 
abreast of where he was; that was six miles from 
where the longboat come ashore. So there we was. 
There wa’n’t any way of tellin’ whereabouts she was 
layin’ ; she might have been anywheres along them six 
miles, and you couldn’t hear nothin’ nor see nothin’. 
But anyhow, the wreckage kept cornin’ in below the 
cable station, so I jedged she was somewheres in that 
neighborhood and we got the boat out — on the cart, 
of course — and hauled it down there. 

“ ’Twas a tremendous job, too, that haulin’ was. 
We had the horse and the whole of us helpin’ him, 
but I swan! I begun to think we’d never git any- 
W’heres. ’Tween the wind and the sand and the 
snow I thought we’d flap to pieces, like a passel of 
shirts on a clothes line. But we got there after a 
spell, and then there was nothin’ to do but wait for 
daylight. 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


189 


“ ’Bout seven o’clock the snow let up a little bit, 
and then we see her. There was a bar jest about 
opposite the cable station — it’s been washed away 
sence — and she’d struck on that, and the sea was 
makin’ a clean breach over her. There was a ha’f a 
dozen of her crew lashed in the riggin’, but I didn’t 
see ’em move, so I presume likely they was froze 
stiff then, for ’twas perishin’ cold. But we wrastled 
the boat down to the water and was jest goin’ to 
launch her when the whole three masts went by the 
board, men and all. We put off to her, but she was 
in a reg’lar soapsuds of a sea and awash from stem 
to stern, so we knew there was nothin’ livin’ aboard. 

“ Yes, siree,” continued the Captain meditatively, 
“ that was a mean night. I had this ear frost-bit, 
and it’s been tender ever sence. One of the fellers 
had a rib broke; he was a little light chap, and the 
wind jest slammed him up against the cart like as if 
he was a chip. And jest to show you,” he added, 
“ how the tide runs around this place, the bodies 
of that crew was picked up from Wellmouth to Se- 
tuckit P’int — twenty-mile stretch that is. The skip- 
per’s body never come ashore. He had a son, nice 
young feller, that was goin’ to meet him in Boston, 
and that boy spent a month down here, waitin’ for 
his father’s body to be washed up. He’d walk up 


CAFN ERI 


190 

and down this beach, and walk up and down. Piti- 
ful sight as ever I see.” 

“And they were all lost?” asked Elsie with a 
shiver. 

“ Every man Jack. But ’twas cu’rus about that 
hemp. The Bluebell was loaded with it, as I told 
you, and when she went to pieces the tide took that 
hemp and strung it from here to glory. They picked 
it up all ’longshore, and for much as a month 
afterwards you’d go along the ‘ main road ’ over in 
the village, and see it hung over fences or spread 
out in the sun to dry. Looked like all the blonde girls 
in creation had had a hair-cut.” 

“ Captain Davis,” said Ralph, “ you must have 
seen some plucky things in your life. What was the 
bravest thing you ever saw done? ” 

The life saver took the cigar that Hazeltine had 
given him from his mouth, and blew the smoke into 
the air over his head. / 

“ Well,” he said slowly, “ I don’t know exactly. 
I’ve seen some pretty gritty things done ’long- 
shore here, in the service. When there’s somebody 
drowndin’, and you know there’s a chance to save 
’em, you’ll take chances, and think nothin’ of ’em, 
that you wouldn’t take if you had time to set down 
and cal’late a little. I see somethin’ done once that 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 191 

may not strike you as bein’ anything out of the usual 
run, but that has always seemed to me clear grit and 
nothin’ else. ’Twa’n’t savin’ life neither; ’twas jest 
a matter of bus’ness. 

“ It happened up off the coast of Maine ’long in 
the seventies. I was actin’ as sort of second mate on 
a lumber schooner. ’Twas a pitch-black night, or 
mornin’ rather, ’bout six o’clock, blowin’ like all 
possessed and colder ’n Greenland. We struck a 
rock that wa’n’t even down on an Eldredge chart 
and punched a hole in the schooner’s side, jest above 
what ought to have been the water line, only she 
was heeled over so that ’twas consider’ble below it 
most of the time. We had a mean crew aboard, Por- 
tugees mainly, and poor ones at that. The skipper 
was below, asleep, and when he come on deck things 
was in a bad way. We’d got the canvas off her, but 
she was takin’ in water every time she rolled, and 
there was a sea goin’ that was tearin’ things loose in 
great shape. We shipped one old grayback that 
ripped off a strip of the lee rail jest the same as you’d 
rip the edge off the cover of a pasteboard box — never 
made no more fuss about it, either. 

“ I didn’t see nothin’ to do but get out the boats, 
but the skipper he wa’n’t that kind. He sized things 
up in a hurry, I tell you. He drove the crew — ^ha’f 


192 


CAFN ERI 


of ’em was prayin’ to the Virgin and t’other ha’f 
swearin’ a blue streak — to the pumps, and set me 
over ’em with a revolver to keep ’em workin’. Then 
him and the fust mate and one or two of the best 
hands rousted out a spare sail, weighted one edge 
of it to keep it down, and got it over the side, made 
fast, of course. 

“ Then him and the mate stripped to their under- 
clothes, rigged a sort of bos’n’s chair over where 
the hole in the side was, took hammers and a pocket- 
ful of nails apiece, and started in to nail that canvas 
over the hole. 

“ ’Twas freezin’ cold, and the old schooner was 
rollin’ like a washtub. One minute I’d see the 
skipper and the mate h’isted up in the air, hammerin’ 
for dear life, and then, swash ! under they’d go, clear 
under, and stay there, seemed to me, forever. Every 
dip I thought would be the end, and I’d shet my 
eyes, expectin’ to see ’em gone when she lifted; but 
no, up they’d come, fetch a breath, shake the salt 
water out of their eyes, and go to work again. 

“ Four hours and a quarter they was at it, four 
hours, mind you, and under water a good ha’f of 
the time; but they got that sail nailed fast fin’lly. 
We got ’em on deck when ’twas done, and we had 
to carry the fust mate to the cabin. But the skipper 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


193 


jest sent the cook for a pail of bilin’ hot coffee, drunk 
the whole of it, put on dry clothes over his wet flan- 
nels, and stayed on deck and worked that schooner 
into Portland harbor, the men pumpin’ clear green 
water out of the hold every minute of the way. 

“ Now, that always seemed to me to be the reel 
thing. ’Twa’n’t a question of savin’ life — we could 
have took to the boats and, nine chances out of ten, 
got ashore all right, for ’twa’n’t very fur. But no, 
the skipper said he’d never lost a vessel for an owner 
yit, and he wa’n’t goin’ to lose this one. And he 
didn’t either, by Judas ! No, sir 1 ” 

“ That was splendid ! ” exclaimed Elsie. “ I 
should like to have known that captain. Who was 
he. Captain Davis ? ” 

“ Well, the fust mate was Obed Simmons — he’s 
dead now — ^but he used to live over on the road 
towards East Harniss. The skipper — well, he was 
a feller you know.” 

“ ’Twas Cap’n Eri,” said Mrs. Snow with con- 
viction. 

” That’s right, ma’am. Perez told you, I s’pose.” 

“ No, nobody told me. I jest guessed it. Fve 
seen a good many folks in my time, and I cal’late 
I’ve got so I can tell what kind a man is after I’ve 
known him a little while. I jedged Cap’n Eri was 


194 


CAP’N ERI 


that kind, and, when you said we knew that skipper, 
I was almost sartin ’twas him.” 

“ Well ! ” exclaimed Ralph, “ I don’t believe I 
should have guessed it. I’ve always liked the Cap- 
tain, but he has seemed so full of fun and so easy- 
going that I never thought of his doing anything 
quite so strenuous.” 

Captain Davis laughed. “ I’ve seen fo’mast 
hands try to take advantage of that easy-goin’ way 
’fore now,” he said, “ but they never did it but once. 
Cap’n Eri is one of the finest fellers that ever 
stepped, but you can’t stomp on his toes much, and 
he’s clear grit inside. And say,” he added, “ don’t 
you tell anybody I told that story, for he’d skin me 
alive if he knew it.” 

As they walked back toward the station Ralph 
and Elsie lingered a little behind the others, and then 
stopped to watch a big four-master that, under full 
sail, was spinning along a mile or two from the 
beach. They watched it for a moment or two with- 
out speaking. Elsie’s cheeks were brown from the 
sun, stray wisps of her hair fluttered in the wind, and 
her trim, healthy figure stood out against the white 
sandhill behind them as if cut from cardboard. The 
electrician looked at her, and again the thought of 
that disgraceful “ ’Gusty ” Black episode was forced 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


195 


into his mind. They had had many a good laugh over 
it since, and Elsie had apparently forgotten it, but 
he had not, by a good deal. 

She was the first to speak, and then as much to 
herself as to him. 

“ I think they are the best people I ever knew,” 
she said. 

“ Who ? ” he asked. 

“ Oh, all of them 1 The captains and Mrs. Snow, 
and Captain Davis and his sister. They are so 
simple and kind and generous. And the best of It 
is, they don’t seem to know it, and wouldn’t believe 
it if you told them.” 

Ralph nodded emphatically. 

“ I imagine it would take a good deal to convince 
Davis or any of these station men that there was 
anything heroic in their lives,” he said. “ As for 
Captain Eri, I have known him only a month or 
two, but I don’t know of anyone to whom I would 
rather go if I were in trouble.” 

“ He has been so kind to grandfather and me,” 
said Elsie, “ that I feel as though we were under an 
obligation we never could repay. When I came 
down here I knew no one In Orham, and he and 
Captain Jerry and Captain Perez have made me feel 
more at home than I have ever felt before. You 


196 


CAFN ERI 


know,” she added, “ grandfather is the only relative 
I have.” 

“ I suppose you will go back to your studies when 
your grandfather recovers.” 

“ I don’t know. If grandfather is well enough 
I think I shall try to persuade him to come up to 
Boston and live with me. Then I might perhaps 
teach. This was to have been my last year at Rad- 
cliffe, so my giving it up will not make so much differ- 
ence. Do you intend to stay here long? I suppose 
you do. Your profession, I know, means so much 
to you, and your work at the station must be very 
interesting.” 

“ It would be more so if I had someone who was 
interested with me. Mr. Langley is kind, but he is so 
wrapped up in his own work that I see very little of 
him. I took the place because I thought it would give 
me a good deal of spare time that I might use in fur- 
thering some experiments of my own. Electricity is 
my hobby, and I have one or two ideas that I am fool- 
ish enough to hope may be worth developing. I have 
had time enough, goodness knows, but it’s a lonesome 
sort of life. If it had not been for the captains — 
and you — I think I should have given it up betorei 
this.” 

“ Oh, I hope you won’t.” 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


197 


“Why?” 

“ Why— why, because it seems like running away, 
almost, doesn’t it? If a thing is hard to do, but is 
worth doing, I think the satisfaction in doing it is ever 
so much greater, don’t you ? I know it must be lonely 
for you; but, then, it is lonely for Mr. Langley and 
the other men, too.” 

“ I doubt if Mr. Langley would be happy any- 
where else, and the other men are married, most of 
them, and live over in the village.” 

Now, there isn’t any real reason why this simple 
remark should have caused a halt in the conversation, 
but it did. Miss Preston said, “ Oh, indeed! ” rather 
hurriedly, and her next speech was concerning the 
height of a particularly big wave. Mr. Hazeltine 
answered this commonplace somewhat absent-mind- 
edly. He acted like a man to whom a startling idea 
had suddenly occurred. Just then they heard Cap- 
tain Eri calling them. 

The Captain was standing on a sand dune near the 
station, shouting their names through a speaking 
trumpet formed by placing his hands about his mouth. 
As the pair came strolling toward him, he shifted his 
hands to his trousers pockets and stood watching the 
young couple with a sort of half smile. 

“ 1 s’pose if Jerry was here now,” he mused, “ he’d 




CAFN ERI 


think his scheme was workin’. Well, maybe ’tis, 
maybe ’tis. You can’t never tell. Well, I swan! ” 

The exclamation was called forth by the sight of 
Captain Perez and Miss Patience, who suddenly came 
into view around the corner of the station. The Cap- 
tain was gallantly assisting his companion over the 
rough places in the path, and she was leaning upon 
his arm in a manner that implied implicit confidence. 
Captain Eri glanced from one couple to the other, 
and then grinned broadly. The grin had not en- 
tirely disappeared when Captain Perez came up, 
and the latter rather crisply asked what the joke 
was. 

“ Oh, nothin’ I ” was the reply. “ I was jest 
thinkin’ we must be playin’ some kind of a game, and 
I was It.” 

“ It? ” queried Miss Patience, puzzled. 

“ Why, yes. I’m kinder like ’Rastus Bailey used to 
be at the dances when you and me was younger, Perez. 
Old man Alexander — he was the fiddler — used to 
sing out ‘ Choose partners for Hull’s Vict’ry,’or some- 
thin’ like that, and it always took ’Ras so long to 
make up his mind what girl to choose that he gin’r- 
ally got left altogether. Then he’d set on the settee 
all through the dance and say he never cared much 
for Hull’s Vict’ry, anyway. Seems to me, I’m the 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


199 


only one that ain’t choosed partners. How ’bout it, 
Perez ? ” 

“ More fool you, that’s all I’ve got to say,” replied 
Captain Perez stoutly. 

Miss Patience laughed so heartily at this rejoinder 
that Perez began to think he had said a very good 
thing indeed, and so repeated it for greater effect. 

“ You want to look out for him, Miss Davis,” said 
Captain Eri. “ He’s the most fascinatin’ youngster of 
his age I ever see. Me and Jerry’s been thinkin’ we’d 
have to build a fence ’round the house to keep the 
girls away when he’s home. Why, M’lissy Busteed 
fairly ” 

“ Oh, give us a rest, Eri ! ” exclaimed Perez, with 
even more indignation than was necessary. “ M’lissy 
Busteed ! ” 

Just then Ralph and Elsie came up, and Captain 
Eri explained that he had hailed them because it was 
time to be going if they wanted to get across to the 
mainland without swimming. They walked around 
to the back door of the station and there found Mrs. 
Snow and Captain Davis by the hen-yard. The lady 
from Nantucket had discovered a sick chicken in the 
collection, and she was holding it in her lap and at the 
same time discoursing learnedly on the relative value 
of Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, as layers. 


200 


CAFN ERI 


“See there!” exclaimed Captain Eri delightedly, 
pointing to the suffering pullet, “ what did I tell you? 
D’you wonder we picked her out for nuss for John, 
Luther? Even a sick hen knows enough to go to 
her.” 

They harnessed Daniel to the carryall, and stowed 
the living freight aboard somehow, although Captain 
Perez protested that he had eaten so much dinner he 
didn’t know’s he’d be able to hang on the way he did 
coming down. Then they said farewell to Captain 
Davis and his sister and started for home. The mem- 
bers of the crew, such of them as were about the sta- 
tion, waved good-by to them as they passed. 

“ Things kind of average up in this world, don’t 
they?” said Captain Eri reflectively, as he steered 
Daniel along the soft beach toward the ford. “ We’re 
all the time readin’ ’bout fellers that work for the 
Gov’ment gittin’ high sal’ries and doin’ next to noth- 
in’. Now there’s a gang — the life-savin’ crew, I 
mean — that does what you and me would call al- 
mighty hard work and git next to nothin’ for it. 
Uncle Sam gits square there, it seems to me. A few 
dollars a month and find yourself ain’t gilt-edged 
wages for bein’ froze and drownded and blown to 
pieces ten months out of the year, is it? ” 

The tide was higher when they came to the cross 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


201 


ing than it had been when they drove over before, but 
they made the passage all right, although there was 
some nervousness displayed by the feminine portion 
of the party. When they reached home they found 
Captain Jerry contentedly smoking his pipe, the sick 
man was asleep, and everything was serene. Josiah 
appeared from behind the barn, where he had been 
smoking a cigarette. 

They pressed Mr. Hazeltine to stay to supper, but 
he declined, alleging that he had been away from busi- 
ness too long already. He had been remarkably silent 
during the homeward ride, and Elsie, too, had seemed 
busy with her thoughts. She was full of fun at the 
supper table, however, and the meal was a jolly one. 
Just as it was finished Captain Jerry struck the table 
a bang with his palm that made the knives and forks 
jump, and so startled Captain Perez as to cause him 
to spill half a cup of tea over his shirt bosom. 

“ Land of love ! ” ejaculated the victim, mopping 
his chin and his tie with his napkin. “ It’s bad enough 
to scare a feller to death, let alone drowndin’ and 
scaldin’ him at the same time. What did you do that 
for?” 

“ I jest thought of somethin’,” exclaimed Captain 
Jerry, going through one pocket after the other. 

“ Well, I wish you’d have your thinkin’ fits in the 


202 


CAFN ERI 


barn or somewheres else next time. I put this shirt 
on clean this mornin’ and now look at it ! ” 

His friend was too busy to pay any attention to this 
advice. The pocket search apparently being unsatis- 
factory, he rose from the table and hurriedly made a 
round of the room, looking on the mantelpiece and 
under chairs. 

“ I had it when I come in,” he soliloquized. “ I 
know I did, ’cause I was wearin’ it when I went out 
to see to the hens. I don’t see where ” 

“ If it’s your hat you’re looking for,” observed 
Josiah, “ I saw Mrs. Snow hang it up on the nail be- 
hind the door. There it is now.” 

The reply to this was merely a grunt, which may, 
or may not have expressed approval. At any rate, 
the hat was apparently the object of his search, for 
he took it from the nail, looked inside, and with a 
sigh of relief took out a crumpled envelope. 

“ I knew I put it somewheres,” he said. “ It’s 
a letter for you, Elsie. Josiah, here, he brought 
it down from the post-office when he come from 
school this afternoon. I meant to give it to you 
afore.” 

Captain Eri, who sat next to the young lady, 
noticed that the envelope was addressed in an irregu- 
lar, sprawling hand to “ Miss Elizabeth Preston, 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


203 


Orham, Mass.” Elsie looked it over in the absent 
way in which so many of us examine the outside of 
a letter which comes unexpectedly. 

“ I wonder who it is from,” she said. 

She did not open it at once, but, tucking it into 
her waist, announced that she must run upstairs, in 
order that Mrs. Snow might come down to supper. 
The housekeeper did come down a few minutes 
later, and, as she was interested to know more about 
Luther Davis and his sister, the talk became animated 
and general. 

It was after eight o’clock when Mrs. Snow, having 
finished washing the dishes — she allowed no one to 
assist her in this operation since the time when she 
caught Captain Jerry absent-mindedly using the 
dust rag instead of the dishcloth — went upstairs to 
her patient. Shortly afterward Elsie came down, 
wearing her hat and jacket. 

“ I’m going out for a little while,” she said. 
“ No, I don’t want anyone to go with me. I’ll be 
back soon.” 

Her back was turned to the three captains as she 
spoke, but, as she opened the door, the lamplight 
shone for an instant on her face, and Captain Eri 
noticed, or fancied that he did, that she was paler 
than usual. He rose, and again offered to accom- 


204 


CAFN ERl 


pany her, but met with such a firm refusal that he 
could not insist further. 

“ Now, that’s kind of funny, ain’t it? ” remarked 
Perez. “ I don’t b’lieve she’s been out alone afore 
after dark sence she’s been here.” 

“ Where did you git that letter, Josiah ? ” asked 
Captain Eri. 

It may as well be explained here that Captain 
Perez’ grand-nephew was a thorn in the flesh to 
everyone, including his indulgent relative. He was 
a little afraid of Mrs. Snow, and obeyed her better 
than he did anyone else, but that is not saying a 
great deal. He was in mischief in school two-thirds 
of the time, and his reports, made out by the teacher, 
were anything but complimentary. He was a good- 
looking boy, tfie image of his mother, who had been 
her uncle’s favorite, and he was popular with a cer- 
tain class of youngsters. Also, and this was worse, 
his work at the livery stable had thrown him in con- 
tact with a crowd of men like “ Squealer ” Wixon, 
“ Web ” Saunders, and others of their class, and 
they appreciated his New York street training and 
made much of him. Captain Perez, mindful of 
his promise to the boy’s mother, did not use the 
necessary measures to control him, and Captain Eri 
and Captain Jerry did not like to interfere. 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


205 


Just now he was seated in the corner, and he 
looked up with a start, hurriedly folded up the tat- 
tered paper book he was reading, stuffed it into his 
pocket, and said, “What?” 

“ Who give you that letter that come for Elsie ? ” 

“ Miss Gaboon up at the office. It was in our 
box,” said the boy. 

“ Humph ! What are you readin’ that’s so inter- 
estin’?” 

“ Oh, nothin’. A book, that’s all.” 

“ Let me look at it.” 

Josiah hesitated, looked as if he would like to 
refuse, and then sullenly took the ragged volume 
from his pocket and handed it to the Captain, who 
deliberately unfolded it, and looked at the cover. 

“ ‘ Fightin’ Fred Starlight, the Boy Rover of the 
Pacific,’ ” he read aloud. “ Humph ! Is it good? ” 

“ Bet your life ! It’s a red-hot story.” 

“ I want to know ! Who was Mr. Moonshine 
— ^what’s his name — Starlight?” 

“ He was a sailor,” was the sulky answer. Josiah 
was no fool, and knew when he was being made 
fun of. 

The Captain opened the book, and read a page 
or two to himself. Then he said, “ I see he knocked 
the skipper down ’cause he insulted him. Nice, 


2o6 


CAFN ERI 


spunky chap; I’d like to have had him aboard a 
vessel of mine. And he called the old man a 
‘ caitiff hound ’ ? Awful thing to call a feller, that 
is. I’ll bet that skipper felt ashamed. Looks like 
a good book. I’ll borrow It to-night to read while 
you’re doin’ your lessons.” 

“ I ain’t got any lessons to do.” 

“ Oh, ain’t you ? I thought that was a ’rithmetic 
over there.” 

“ Well, I know ’em now. Besides, you ain’t got 
any right to order me around. You ain’t my uncle. 
Can’t I read that book. Uncle Perez?” 

Poor Perez! He hesitated, swallowed once or 
twice, and answered, “ You can read It after you’ve 
studied a spell. You’ll let him have it then, won’t 
you, Eri ? Now study, like a good boy.” 

Captain Eri looked as if he would like to say 
something further, but he evidently thought better 
of it, and tossed the paper novel across to Captain 
Perez, who put It on the table, saying, rather feebly : 

“ There now, it’s right there, where you can have 
it soon’s you’ve I’arned your examples. Now pitch 
in, so’s the teacher can see how smart you are.” 

His nephew grumblingly got his paper and pencil, 
took the arithmetic and went to work. No one spoke 
for a while. Captain Perez twirling his thumbs and 


HEROES AND A MYSTERY 


2oy 


looking, as he felt, uncomfortable. Soon Josiah, 
announcing that his studies were completed, grabbed 
the novel from the table, took a lamp from the 
kitchen and went off to bed. When he had gone 
Captain Jerry said, “ Perez, you’re sp’ilin’ that boy.” 

“ I s’pose I am, I s’pose I am, but I can’t bear to 
be cross to him, somehow. Poor Lizzie, she made 
me promise I wouldn’t be, and I jest can’t; that’s 
all. You understand how ’tis, don’t you, Eri?” 

The Captain nodded. “ I understand,” he said. 
“ Pm sorry I said anything. I hadn’t ought to be 
givin’ orders ’bout what’s none of my affairs. What 
time is it gittin’ to be? ” 

Captain Jerry announced that it was bedtime, 
and that he was going to turn in. Perez, still look- 
ing worried and anxious, said that he also was going 
to bed. Captain Eri thought that he would sit up 
for a while. 

Another hour and still another went by, and the 
Captain sat there in his rocker. His two friends were 
sound asleep. Mrs. Snow called twice from the head 
of the stairs to know if Elsie had come back, and 
where on earth she could be. Captain Eri’s answers 
were cheery and to the effect that the young lady 
had an errand up town, and would be home pretty 
soon, he guessed. Nevertheless, it might have been 


2o8 


CAFN ERI 


noticed that he glanced at the clock every few 
minutes, and grew more and more fidgety. 

It was after eleven when Elsie came in. She 
hurriedly and with some confusion apologized for 
being so late, and thanked the Captain for sitting 
up for her. She made no offer to explain her long 
absence and, as she went upstairs, Captain Eri no- 
ticed that her face was, if anything, paler than when 
she went out, and her eyes looked as if she had been 
crying. He wanted to ask her some questions, but 
didn’t, because she evidently did not wish to talk. 
He pondered over the matter while undressing, and 
for a long time after that lay awake thinking. That 
the girl was in trouble of some sort was plain, but 
he could not understand why she said nothing about 
it, or what its cause might be. She had been her 
bright, happy self all day and a part of the evening. 
Then she had suddenly changed. The Captain won- 
dered what was in that letter. 


CHAPTER XII 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


J^<I^##^lsie, when she came down to break- 
fast next morning, was quieter than 
# H # usual, and to the joking questions of 
Captain Terry and Captain Perez, 
who were curious concerning her er- 
rand ” of the previous evening, and who pretended to 
believe that she had gone to a dance or “ time ” 
with some “ feller ” unknown, she gave evasive, but 
good-humored replies. Captain Eri was on his 
usual fishing trip, and after breakfast was over 
Perez departed to the Barry place, and Jerry to his 
beloved schoolhouse. The sacrifice, whose impend- 
ing matrimonial doom had not been mentioned for 
some time by the trio interested, was gradually be- 
coming his own garrulous self, and his principal 
topic of conversation recently had been the coming 
marriage of the “ upstairs teacher ” — that is, the 
lady who presided over the grammar grade of the 


210 


CAFN ERl 


school — and the question of her probable successor. 
In fact, this question of who the new teacher was to 
be was the prevailing subject of surmise and conjec- 
ture in the village just then. 

When Captain Jerry came back to the house he 
went out to the barn to feed Lorenzo and the hens, 
and attend to Daniel’s toilet. He was busy with 
the curry-comb when Elsie came in. She seated her- 
self on a box, and watched the performance for a 
while without speaking. The Captain, who took 
this part of his duties very seriously, was too intent 
on crimping Daniel’s rather scraggy forelock to talk 
much. At length Miss Preston broke the silence. 

“ Captain Jerry,” she said, “ you have never told 
me just where you found grandfather that night 
when he was taken sick. On the hill back of the post- 
office, wasn’t it? ” 

“ Yes, jest on the top. You see, he’d fell down 
when he was runnin’ to the fire.” 

“ Captain Eri found him, didn’t he? ” 

“ Yep. Whoa there, Dan’l; stand still, can’t you? 
Yes, Eri found him.” 

“ How was he dressed? ” 

“ Who ? John ? Oh, he was bareheaded and in 
his shirtsleeves, jest as he run outdoors when he 
heard the bell. Queer, he didn’t put on that old 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


lit 


white hat of his. I never knew him to be without 
it afore; but a feller’s li’ble to forgit ’most anything 
a night like that was. Did Eri tell you how Perez 
forgot his shoes? Funniest thing I ever see, that 
was.” 

He began the story of his friend’s absent-minded- 
ness, but his companion did not seem to pay much 
attention to it. In fact, it was evident that her 
thoughts were somewhere else, for when the Captain 
asked her a question that plainly called for a nega- 
tive, she replied “ Yes,” very calmly, and didn’t 
seem to know that she had said it. She went into 
the house soon after and Captain Jerry, after con- 
sidering the matter, decided that she was probably 
thinking of Hazeltine. He derived much comfort 
from the idea. 

When he, too, entered the dining room, Elsie said 
to him : 

“ Oh, Captain Jerry ! Please don’t tell the others 
that I asked about grandfather. They would think 
that I was worrying, and I’m not, a bit. You 
won’t mention it, will you? Just promise, to please 
me. 

So the Captain promised, although he did not un- 
derstand why it was asked of him. 

When Captain Eri came home that afternoon, and 


212 


CAFN ERI 


was cleaning his catch at the shanty, he was surprised 
to receive a call from Miss Preston. 

“ Hello ! ” he exclaimed. “ Come to Tarn the 
trade? ” 

Elsie smiled, and disclaimed any intention of ap- 
prenticeship. 

“ Captain Eri,” she said, “ I want to have a talk 
with you, a business talk.” 

The Captain looked at her keenly. All he said, 
however, was, “ You don’t tell me! ” 

“Yes, I want to talk with you about getting me a 
position.” 

“ A position? ” 

“ Yes, I’ve been thinking a great deal lately, and, 
now that grandfather seems to be a little better, and 
I’m not needed to help take care of him, I want to do 
something to earn my living.” 

“ Earn your livin’ ? Why, child alive, you don’t 
need to do that. You ain’t a mite of trouble at the 
house; fact is, I don’t know how we’d get along 
without you, and, as for money, why I cal’late your 
grandpa ain’t so poor but what, if I let you have a 
little change once in a while, he’d be able to pay me 
back, when he got better.” 

“ But I don’t want to use your money or his either. 
Captain Eri, you don’t know what he has done for 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


213 


me ever since I was a little girl. He has clothed me 
and given me an education, and been so kind and 
good that, now that he is ill and helpless, I sim- 
ply can’t go on using his money. I can’t, and I 
won’t.” 

The tears stood in the girl’s eyes, as she spoke, and 
the Captain, noticing her emotion, thought it better 
to treat the matter seriously, for the present at any 
rate. 

“ All right,” he said. “ ‘ Independence shows a 
proper sperit and saves grocery bills,’ as old man 
Scudder said when his wife run off with the tin-ped- 
dler. What kind of a place was you thinkin’ of 
takin’?” 

” I want to get the appointment to teach in the 
grammar school here. Miss Nixon is going to be 
married, and when she leaves I want her place — - 
and I want you to help me get it.” 

Captain Eri whistled. “I want to know!” he 
exclaimed. Then he said, “ Look here, Elsie, I don’t 
want you to think I’m tryin’ to be cur’ous ’bout your 
affairs, or anything like that, but are you sure there 
ain’t some reason more ’n you’ve told me of for your 
wantin’ this place ? I ain’t no real relation of yours, 
you understand, but I would like to have you feel 
that you could come to me with your troubles jest 


214 


CAFN ERI 


the same as you would to your grandpa. Now, hon- 
est and true, ain’t there somethin’ back of this ? ” 

It was only for a moment that Elsie hesitated, 
but that moment’s hesitation and the manner in which 
she answered went far toward confirming the Cap- 
tain’s suspicions. 

“ No, Captain Eri,” she said. “ It is just as I’ve 
told you. I don’t want to be dependent on grand- 
father any longer.” 

“ And there ain’t a single other reason for 

Of course, I ought to mind my business, but 

Well, there! what was it you wanted me to do? 
Help you git the place?” 

“ Yes, if you will. I know Captain Perez has 
said that you were interested in the town-meetings 
and helped to nominate some of the selectmen and 
the school-committee, so I thought perhaps, if you 
used your influence, you might get the position for 
me. 

“ Well, I don’t know. I did do a little election- 
eerin’ for one or two fellers and maybe they’d ought 
to be willin’ to do somethin’ for me. Still, you 
can’t never tell. A cat ’ll jump over your hands if 
she knows there’s a piece of fish cornin’ afterwards, 
but when she’s swallowed that fish, it’s a diff’rent 
job altogether. Same way with a politician. But, 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


215 


then, you let me think over it for a spell, and p’raps 
to-morrow we’ll see. You think k over, too. Maybe 
you’ll change your mind.” 

“ No, I shan’t change my mind. Vm ever and 
ever so much obliged to you, though.” 

She started toward the door, but turned impul- 
sively and said, “ Oh, Captain Eri, you don’t think 
that I’m ungrateful, do you? You nor Captain 
Perez nor Captain Jerry won’t think that I do not 
appreciate all your kindness? You won’t think that 
I’m shirking my duty, or that I don’t want to help 
take care of grandfather any longer? You won’t? 
Promise me you won’t.” 

She choked down a sob as she asked the ques- 
tion. 

Captain Eri was as much moved as she was. He 
hastened to answer. 

“ No, no, no ! ” he exclaimed. “ Course we won’t 
do no such thing. Run right along, and don’t think 
another word about it. Wait till to-morrer. I’ll 
have a plan fixed up to land that school-committee, 
see if I don’t.” 

But all that evening he worked at the model of 
the clipper, and the expression on his face as he 
whittled showed that he was puzzled, and not a 
little troubled. 


2i6 


CAFN ERI 


He came back from his fishing next day a little 
earlier than usual, changed his working-clothes for 
his second best suit, harnessed Daniel into the buggy, 
and then came into the house, and announced that 
he was going over to the Neck on an errand, and if 
Elsie wanted to go with him, he should be glad of 
her company. As this was but part of a pre-arranged 
scheme, the young lady declared that a ride was 
just what she needed. 

Captain Eri said but little, as they drove up to the 
“ main road ” ; he seemed to be thinking. Elsie, too, 
was very quiet. When they reached the fruit and 
candy shop, just around the corner, the Captain 
stopped the horse, got down, and went in. When 
he came out he had a handful of cigars. 

“ Why, Captain Eri,” said Elsie, “ I didn’t know 
that you smoked cigars. I thought a pipe was your 
favorite.” 

“ Well, gin’rally speakin’, ’tis,” was the answer, 
“ but I’m electioneerin’ now, and politics without 
cigars would be like a chowder without any clams. 
Rum goes with some kind of politics, but terbacker 
kind of chums in with all kinds. ’Tain’t always safe 
to jedge a candidate by the kind of cigars he gives 
out neither; I’ve found that out. 

“ Reminds me of a funny thing that Obed Nick- 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


217 


erson told me one time. Obed used to be in politics 
a good deal up and down the Cape, here, and he 
had consider’ble influence. ’Twas when Bradley 
up to Fall River was runnin’ for Congress. They 
had a kind of pow-wow in his office — a whole gang 
of district leaders — and Obed he was one of ’em. 
Bradley went to git out the cigar-box, and ’twas 
empty, so he called in the boy that swept out and run 
errands for him, give the youngster a ten-dollar bill, 
and told him to go down to a terbacker store handy 
and buy another box. Well, the boy, he was a new 
one that Bradley’d jest hired, seemed kind of sur- 
prised to think of anybody’s bein’ so reckless as to 
buy a whole box of cigars at once, but he went and 
pretty soon come back with the box. 

“ The old man told him to open it and pass ’em 
round. Well, everybody was lookin’ for’ard to a 
treat, ’cause Bradley had the name of smokin’ better 
stuff than the average; but when they lit up and 
got a-goin’, Obed said you could see that the gang 
was s’prised and some disgusted. The old man 
didn’t take one at fust, but everybody else puffed 
away, and the smoke and smell got thicker ’n’ 
thicker. Obed said it reminded him of a stable afire 
more ’n anything else. Pretty soon Bradley bit the 
end of one of the things and touched a match to 


CAFN ERI 


n8 

it. He puffed twice — Obed swears ’twa’n’t more’n 
that — and then he yelled for the boy. 

“ ‘ For the Lord’s sake ! ’ he says, ‘ where’d you 
git them cigars?’ Well, it come out that the boy 
hadn’t told who the cigars was for, and he’d bought 
a box of the kind his brother that worked in the 
cotton mill smoked. Obed said you’d ought to have 
seen Bradley’s face when the youngster handed him 
back seven dollars and seventy-five cents change.” 

They reached that part of Orham which is called 
the Neck, and pulled up before a small building 
bearing the sign “ Solomon Bangs, Attorney-at-Law, 
Real Estate and Insurance.” Here the Captain 
turned to his companion and asked, “ Sure you 
haven’t changed your mind, Elsie? You want that 
school-teachin’ job?” 

“ I haven’t changed my mind. Captain Eri.” 

“ Well, I wanted to be sure. I should hate to ask 
Sol Bangs for anything and then have to back out 
afterwards. Come on, now.” 

Mr. Soloman Bangs was the chairman of the 
Orham school-committee. He was a short, stout 
man with sandy side-whiskers and a bald head. He 
received them with becoming condescension, and 
asked if they wouldn’t sit down. 

“ Why, I’ve got a little bus’ness I want to talk 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


219 


with you ’bout, Sol,” said the Captain. “ Elsie, 
you set down here, and make yourself comf’table, 
and Sol and me ’ll go inside for a minute.” 

As he led the way into the little private office at 
the back of the building, and seemed to take it for 
granted that Mr. Bangs would follow, the latter 
gentleman couldn’t well refuse. The private office 
was usually reserved for interviews with widows 
whose homestead mortgages were to be foreclosed, 
guileless individuals who had indorsed notes for 
friends, or others whose business was unpleasant and 
likely to be accompanied with weeping or profanity. 
Mr. Bangs didn’t object to foreclosing a mortgage, 
but he disliked to have a prospective customer hear 
the dialogue that preceded the operation. 

On this occasion the door of the sanctum was 
left ajar so that Elsie, although she did not try to 
listen, could not very well help hearing what was 
said. 

She heard the Captain commenting on the late 
cranberry crop, the exceptionally pleasant weather 
of the past month, and other irrelevant subjects. 
Then the perfumes of the campaign cigars floated 
out through the doorway. 

“ Let’s see,” said Captain Eri, “ when’s town- 
meetin’ day ? ” 


220 


CAFN ERI 


“ First Tuesday in December,” replied Mr. Bangs. 

“ Why, so ’tis, so ’tis. Gittin’ pretty nigh, ain’t 
it? What are you goin’ to git off the school-com- 
mittee for? ” 

“Me? Get off the committee? Who told you 
that?” 

“Why, I don’t know. You are, ain’t you? 
Seems to me I heard Seth Wingate was goin’ to run 
and he’s from your district, so I thought, of 
course ” 

“ Is Seth going to try for the committee? ” 

“ Seth’s a good man,” was the equivocal answer. 

“ A good man ! He ain’t any better man than I 
am. What’s he know about schools, or how to run 
’em?” 

“ Well, he’s pretty popular. Folks like him. See 
here, Sol; what’s this ’bout your turnin’ Betsy God- 
frey off her place?” 

“ Who said I turned her off ? I’ve been carrying 
that mortgage for so long it’s gray-headed. I 
can’t be Santa Claus for the whole town. Business 
is business, and I’ve got to look out for my- 
self.” 

“ Ye-es, I s’pose that’s so. Still, folks talk, and 
Seth’s got lots of friends.” 

“ Eri, I ain’t denying that you could do a heap 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


221 


to hurt me if you wanted to, but I don’t know why 
you should. I’ve always been square with you, far’s 
I know. What have you got against me ? ” 

“ Oh, nuthin’, nuthin’ ! Didn’t I hear you was 
tryin’ to get that Harniss teacher to come down here 
and take Carrie Nixon’s place when she got 
married? ” 

“ Well, I thought of her. She’s all right, isn’t 
she?” 

“ Yes, I s’pose she is. ’Twould be better if she 
lived in Orham, maybe, and folks couldn’t say you 
went out of town for a teacher when you could have 
had one right from home. Then, she’s some relation 
of your cousin, ain’t she? ’Course, that’s all right, 
but — well, you can’t pay attention to everything that’s 
said.” 

“ Could have got one right from home ! Who’d 
we get? Dave Eldredge’s girl, I suppose. I heard 
she was after it.” 

The conversation that followed was in a lower 
tone, and Elsie heard but little of it. She heard 
enough, however, to infer that Captain Eri was still 
the disinterested friend, and that Solomon was very 
anxious to retain that friendship. After a while 
the striking of matches indicated that fresh cigars 
were being lighted, and then the pair rose from their 


22a 


CAFN ERI 


chairs, and entered the outer office. Mr. Bangs was 
very gracious, exceedingly so. 

“ Miss Preston,” he said, ” Cap’n Hedge tells me 
that it — er — might be possible for us — ^^er — for the 
town to secure — er — to — in short, for us to have 
you for our teacher in the upstairs room. It ain’t 
necessary for me to say that — er — a teacher from 
Radcliffe don’t come our way very often, and that 
we — that is, the town of Orham, would — er — feel 
itself lucky if you’d be willing to come.” 

“ Of course, I told him, Elsie,” said Captain Eri, 
“ that you wouldn’t think of cornin’ for forty-five 
dollars a month or anything like that. Of course, 
’tisn’t as though you really needed the place.” 

“ I understand, I understand,” said the pompous 
committeeman. “ I think that can be arranged. I 
really think — er — Miss Preston, that there ain’t 
any reason why you can’t consider it settled. 
Ahem ! ” 

Elsie thanked him, trying her best not to smile, 
and they were bowed out by the great man, who, how- 
ever, called the Captain to one side, and whispered 
eagerly to him for a moment or two. The word 
“ Seth ” was mentioned at least once. 

“ Why, Captain Eri ! ” exclaimed Elsie, as they 
drove away. 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


223 


The Captain grinned. “ Didn’t know I was such 
a heeler, did you? ” he said. “ Well, I tell you. If 
you’re fishin’ for eels there ain’t no use usin’ a 
mack’rel jig. Sol, he’s a little mite eely, and you’ve 
got to use the kind of bait that ’ll fetch that sort 
of critter.” 

“ But I shouldn’t think he would care whether he 
was on the school-committee or not. It isn’t such 
an exalted position.” 

Captain Eri’s answer was in the form of a para- 
ble. “ Old Laban Simpkins that lived ’round here 
one time,” he said, “ was a mighty hard ticket. 
Drank rum by the hogshead, pounded his wife till 
she left him, and was a tough nut gin’rally. Well, 
one evenin’ Labe was cornin’ home pretty how-come- 
you-so, and he fell into Jonadab Wixon’s well. 
Wonder he wa’n’t killed, but he wa’n’t, and they 
fished him out in a little while. He said that was the 
deepest well he ever saw; said he begun to think it 
reached clear through to the hereafter, and when 
he struck the water he was s’prised to find it wa’n’t 
hot. He j’ined the church the next week, and some- 
body asked him if he thought religion would keep 
him from failin’ into any more wells. He said 
no; said he was lookin’ out for somethin’ further 
on. 


224 


CAFN ERI 


“ Well, that’s the way ’tis with Sol. School-com- 
mittee’s all right, but this section of the Cape nomi- 
nates a State representative next year. 

“ I mustn’t forgit to see Seth,” he added. “ I 
promised I would, and besides,” with a wink, “ I 
think ’twould be better to do it ’cause, between you 
and me, I don’t b’lieve Seth knows that he’s been 
thinkin’ of runnin’ for the committee and has de- 
cided not to.” 

The second member of the school board, John 
Mullett, was, so the Captain said, a sort of “ me too ” 
to Mr. Bangs, and would vote as his friend directed. 
The third member was Mr. Langworthy, the Baptist 
minister and, although two to one was a clear major- 
ity, Captain Eri asserted that there was nothing like 
a unanimous vote, and so they decided to call upon 
the reverend gentleman. 

They found him at home, and Elsie was surprised, 
after the previous interview, to see how differently her 
champion handled the case. There was no prelimi- 
nary parley and no beating about the bush. Miss 
Preston’s claim to the soon-to-be-vacant position was 
stated clearly and with vigor. Also the reasons why 
she should receive a higher salary than had previously 
been paid were set forth. It was something of a sur- 
prise to Elsie, as it had been to Ralph, to see how 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


225 


highly the towns-people, that is, the respectable por- 
tion of them, seemed to value the opinions of this 
good-natured but uneducated seaman. And yet when 
she considered that she, too, went to him for advice 
that she would not have asked of other and far more 
learned acquaintances, it did not seem so surprising 
after all. 

The clergyman had had several candidates in mind, 
but he was easily won over to Elsie’s side, partly by 
the Captain’s argument, and partly because he was 
favorably impressed by the young lady’s appearance 
and manner. He expressed himself as being con- 
vinced that she would be exactly the sort of teacher 
that the school required and pledged his vote uncon- 
ditionally. 

And so, as Captain Eri said, the stump-speaking 
being over, there was nothing to do but to wait for the 
election, and Elsie and he agreed to keep the affair a 
secret until she received formal notice of the appoint- 
ment. This was undoubtedly a good plan, but, unfor- 
tunately for its success, Solomon Bangs called upon 
his fellow in the committee, Mr. Mullett, to inform 
the latter that he, entirely unaided, had discovered the 
very teacher that Orham needed in the person of John 
Baxter’s granddaughter. Mr. Mullett, living up to 
his “ me too ” reputation, indorsed the selection with 


226 


CAFN ERI 


enthusiasm, and not only did that, but also told every- 
one he met, so that Captain Perez heard of it at the 
post-office the very next afternoon. 

The natural surprise of this gentleman and of Cap- 
tain Jerry at their guest’s sudden determination was 
met by plausible explanations from Captain Eri, to 
the effect that Elsie was a smart girl, and didn’t like 
to be “ bangin’ ’round doin’ nothin’, now that her 
grandpa was some better.” Elsie’s own reason, as ex- 
pressed to them, being just this, the pair accepted it 
without further questioning. Neither of them at- 
tached much importance to the letter which she had 
received, although Captain Perez did ask Mrs. Snow 
if she knew from whom it came. 

The lady from Nantucket was not so easily satis- 
fied. At her first opportunity she cornered Captain 
Eri, and they discussed the whole affair from be- 
ginning to end. There was nothing unusual in this 
proceeding, for discussions concerning household mat- 
ters and questions of domestic policy were, between 
these two, getting to be more and more frequent. 
Mrs. Snow was now accepted by all as one of the 
family, and Captain Eri had come to hold a high 
opinion of her and her views. What he liked about 
her, he said, was her “ good old-fashioned common- 
sense,” and, whereas he had formerly trusted to his 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


227 


own share of this virtue almost altogether, now he 
was glad to have hers to help out. 

The marriage idea, that which had brought the 
housekeeper to Orham, was now seldom mentioned. 
In fact. Captain Eri had almost entirely ceased to 
ruffle Jerry’s feelings with reference to it. Mrs. Snow, 
of course, said nothing about it. But, for that matter, 
she said very little about herself or her affairs. 

It was a curious fact that the lady from Nantucket 
had never referred, except in a casual way, to her past 
history. She had never told how she came to answer 
the advertisement in the Nuptial Chime, nor to ex- 
plain how so matter-of-fact a person as she was had 
ever seen that famous sheet. As she said nothing con- 
cerning these things, no one felt at liberty to inquire, 
and, in the course of time, even Captain Perez’ lively 
curiosity had lapsed into a trance. 

Mrs. Snow was certain that Elsie’s reason for wish- 
ing to obtain the position of school-teacher was some- 
thing more specific than the one advanced. She was 
also certain that the girl was troubled about some- 
thing. The root of the matter, she believed, was con- 
tained in the mysterious letter. As Captain Eri was 
of precisely the same opinion, speculation between the 
two as to what that letter might have contained was 
as lively as it was unfruitful. 


228 


CAFN ERl 


One thing was certain, Elsie was not as she had 
formerly been. She did her best to appear the same, 
but she was much more quiet, ahd had fits of absent- 
mindedness that the Captain and the housekeeper 
noticed. She had no more evening “ errands,” 
but she occasionally took long walks in the afternoons, 
and on these walks she evidently preferred to be 
alone. 

Whether Mr. Hazeltine noticed this change in her 
was a question. The Captain thought he did, but at 
any rate, his calls were none the less frequent, and he 
showed no marked objection when Captain Jerry, who 
now considered himself bound in honor to bring 
about the union he had so actively championed, 
brought to bear his artful schemes for leaving the 
young folks alone. These devices were so apparent 
that Elsie had more than once betrayed some symp- 
toms of annoyance, all of which were lost on the zeal- 
ous match-maker. Ralph, like the others, was much 
surprised at Miss Preston’s application for employ- 
ment, but, as it was manifestly none of his business, 
he, of course, said nothing. 

At the next committee meeting Elsie was unani- 
mously chosen to fill Miss Nixon’s shoes as trainer 
of the young idea at the grammar school, and, as 
Miss Nixon was very anxious to be rid of her re§pon- 


A LITTLE POLITICS 229 

sibilities in order that she might become the care- 
free bride of a widower with two small children, 
the shoe-filling took place in a fortnight. 

From her first day’s labors Elsie returned calm and 
unruffled. She had met the usual small rebellion 
against a new teacher, and had conquered it. She said 
she believed she had a good class and she should get 
on with them very nicely. It should be mentioned in 
pissing, however, that Josiah Bartlett, usually the 
ring-leader in all sorts of trouble, was a trifle upset 
because the new schoolmistress lived in the same house 
with him, and so had not yet decided just how far 
it was safe to go in trespassing against law and 
order. 

Thanksgiving day came, and the Captains enter- 
tained Miss Patience Davis and her brother and 
Ralph Hazeltine at dinner. That dinner was an 
event. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow spent a full 
twenty minutes with the driver of the butcher’s cart, 
giving him directions concerning the exact breed of 
turkey that was to be delivered, and apparently these 
orders were effectual, for Captain Luther, who was 
obliged to hurry back to the life-saving station as 
soon as dinner was over, said that he was so full of 
white meat and stuffing that he cal’lated he should 
“ gobble ” all the way to the beach. His sister stayed 


230 


CAP’N ERI 


until the next day, and this was very pleasing to all 
hands, particularly Captain Perez. 

They had games in the evening, and here the cap- 
tains distinguished themselves. Seth Wingate and 
his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. Obed Nickerson came in, 
as did several other retired mariners and their better- 
halves. Obed brought his fiddle and sat in the corner 
and played the music for a Virginia reel, and Ralph 
laughed until he choked to see Captain Jerry — hdlf 
of his shirt-collar torn loose from the button and flap- 
ping like a sail — convoy stout Mrs. Wingate from 
one end of the line to the other, throwing into the 
performance all the fancy “ cuts ” and “ double- 
shuffles ” he learned at the Thanksgiving balls of a 
good many years before. Captain Perez danced with 
Miss Patience, who assured him she had never had 
such a good time since she was born. The only scoffer 
was the bored Josiah, who, being a sophisticated New 
Yorker, sat in the best chair and gazed contemptu- 
ously upon the entire proceeding. He told “ Web ” 
Saunders the next day that he never saw such a gang 
of “ crazy jays ” in his life. 

Even John Baxter was better that day. He seemed 
a trifle more rational, and apparently understood 
when they told him that it was Thanksgiving. There 
would have been no cloud anywhere had not Mrs. 


A LITTLE POLITICS 


231 


Snow, entering her room after Elsie had gone to bed, 
found that young lady awake and crying silently. 

“ And she wouldn’t tell what the trouble was,” said 
the housekeeper to Captain Eri, the next day. “ Said 
it was nothin’; she was kind of worried ’bout her 
grandpa. Now, you and me know it wa’n’t that. I 
wish to goodness we knew what it was.” 

The Captain scratched his nose with a perplexed 
air. “ There’s one feller I’d like to have a talk with 
jest ’bout now,” he said; “ that’s the one that invented 
that yarn ’bout a woman’s not bein’ able to keep a 
secret.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


CAPTAIN JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 


IT was during the week that followed 

I # the holiday so gloriously celebrated 
^ that Captain Jerry made a mess of It, 
and all with the best intentions in the 
world. Elsie had had a hard day at 
the school, principally owing to the perversity of the 
irrepressible Josiah, whose love for deviltry was get- 
ting the better of his respect for the new teacher. The 
boy had discovered that Elsie never reported his bad 
conduct to Captain Perez, and, therefore, that the 
situation was not greatly different from what it had 
been during the reign of Miss Nixon. 

On this particular day he had been a little worse 
than usual, and, as uneasiness and mischief in a 
schoolroom are as catching as the chickenpox, Elsie 
came home tired and nervous. Captain Eri and Mrs. 
Snow were certain that this increasing nervousness on 
the part of their guest was not due to school troubles 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 233 


alone, but, at any rate, nervous she was, and particu- 
larly nervous, and, it must be confessed, somewhat 
inclined to be irritable, during the supper and after- 
ward, on this ill-starred night. 

The beginning of the trouble was when Ralpli 
Hazeltine called. Mrs. Snow was with her patient in 
the upper room. Captain Eri was out, and Captain 
Perez and Captain Jerry were with Elsie in the dining 
room. The electrician was made welcome by the trio 
— more especially by the captains, for Miss Preston 
was in no mood to be overeffusive — and a few min- 
utes of general conversation followed. Then Captain 
Jerry, in accordance with his plan of campaign, laid 
down his newspaper, coughed emphatically to attract 
the attention of his partner, and said, “ Well, I guess 
I’ll go out and look at the weather for a spell. Come 
on, Perez.” 

“Why, Captain Jerry!” exclaimed Elsie, “you 
were out looking at the weather only ten minutes 
ago. I don’t think it has changed much since 
then. Why don’t you stay here and keep us com- 
pany? ” 

“ Oh, you can’t never tell about the weather ’long 
this coast. It’s likely to change most any time. Be- 
sides,” with a wink that expressed comprehension un- 
limited, “ I reckon you and Mr. Hazeltine don’t care 


234 


CAP’N ERl 


much ’bout the company of old fogies like me and 
Perez. Two’s company and three’s a crowd, you 
know. Ho, ho, ho ! ” 

“ Captain Jerry, come back this minute ! ” 

But the Captain chuckled and shook out of the 
door, followed by the obedient Perez, who, having 
pledged fealty, stuck to his colors whatever might 
happen. 

At another time, Elsie would probably have ap- 
preciated and enjoyed the joke as much as anyone, but 
this evening it did not appeal to her in the least. 
Ralph put in a very uncomfortable half-hour, and 
then cut his visit short and departed. It was rather 
sharp and chilly outside, but the breeze felt like a 
breath from the tropics compared with the atmosphere 
of that dining room. 

It certainly was Captain Jerry’s unlucky evening, 
for he left Perez chatting with a fisherman friend, 
who had left a favorite pipe in his shanty and had 
come down to get it, and entered the house alone. 
He had seen the electrician go, and was surprised at 
the brevity of his call, but he was as far from suspect- 
ing that he himself was the indirect cause of the said 
brevity as a mortal could be. 

He came into the dining room, hung his cap on the 
back of a chair, and remarked cheerfully, “ Well, 


JERRY MAKES' A MESS OF IT 23s 

Elsie, what did you send your company home so quick 
for? Land sake! twelve o’clock wa’n’t none too late 
for me when I was young and goin’ round to see the 
girls.” 

But Miss Preston did not smile. On the contrary, 
she frowned, and when she spoke the Captain had a 
vague feeling that someone had dropped an icicle in- 
side his shirt collar. 

“ Captain Jerry,” said the young lady, “ I want to 
have a talk with you. Why do you think it necessary 
to get up and leave the room whenever Mr. Hazeltine 
calls? You do it every time, and to-night was no ex- 
ception, except that by what you said you made me 
appear a little more ridiculous than usual. Now, why 
do you do it? ” 

The Captain’s jaw fell. He stared at his ques- 
tioner to see if she was not joking, but, finding no 
encouragement of that kind, stammered, “ Why do I 
doit? Why?” 

“ Yes, why?” 

“ Why, ’cause I thought you wanted me to.” 

“ I wanted you to ! Why should you think that, 
please? ” 

“ Well, I don’t know. I thought you two would 
ruther be alone. I know, when I used to go to see 
my wife ’fore we was married, I ” 


236 


CAFN ERI 


“ Please, what has that got to do with Mr. Hazel- 
tine’s visits here? ” 

“ Why, why, nothin’, I s’pose, if you say so. I jest 
thought ” 

“ What right have you to suppose that Mr. Hazel- 
tine is calling on me more than any other person or 
persons in this house ? ” 

This was something of a poser, but the Captain did 
his best. He sat on the edge of a chair and rubbed 
his knee, and then blurted out, “ Well, I s’pose I — 
that is, we thought he was, jest ’cause he nat’rally 
would; that’s ’bout all. If I’d thought — ^why, see 
here, Elsie, don’t you think he’s cornin’ to see you ? ” 

This was a return thrust that was hard to parry, 
but, although the young lady’s color heightened just 
a bit, she answered without much hesitation : 

“ I don’t know that I do. At any rate, I have 
given you no authority to act on any such assumption, 
and I don^ t want you to put me again in the ridiculous 
position you did this evening, and as you have done so 
often before. Why, his visits might be perfect torture 
to me, and still I should have to endure them out of 
common politeness. I couldn’t go away and leave 
him alone.” 

Captain Jerry’s face was a study of chagrin and 
troubled repentance. 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 237 


“Elsie,” he said, “ I’m awful sorry; I am so. If 
I’d thought I was torturin’ of you, ’stead of makin’ it 
pleasant, I’d never have done it, sure. I won’t go out 
again; I won’t, honest. I hope you won’t lay it up 
against me. I meant well.” 

Now, if Captain Perez had delayed his entrance to 
that dining room only two or three minutes longer, if 
he had not come in just in time to prevent Elsie’s 
making the explanatory and soothing answer that was 
on her tongue, events would probably have been en- 
tirely different, and a good deal of trouble might have 
been saved. But in he came, as if some perverse imp 
had been waiting to give him the signal, and the 
interview between Captain Jerry and the young lady 
whom he had unwittingly offended broke off then and 
there. 

Elsie went upstairs feeling a little conscience- 
stricken, and with an uneasy idea that she had said 
more than she should have. Captain Perez took up 
the newspaper and sat down to read. As for Captain 
Jerry, he sat down, too, but merely to get his thoughts 
assorted into an arrangement less like a spilled box of 
jackstraws. The Captain’s wonderful scheme, that 
he had boasted of and worked so hard for, had fallen 
to earth like an exploded airship, and when it hit it 
hurt. 


238 


C^FN ERI 


His first idea' was to follow the usual procedure, 
and take the whole matter to Captain Eri for settle- 
ment, but the more he considered this plan the less 
he liked it. Captain Eri was an unmerciful tease, and 
he would be sure to “ rub it in,” in a way the mere 
thought of which made his friend squirm. There 
wasn’t much use in confiding to Captain Perez, either. 
He must keep the secret and pretend that everything 
was working smoothly. 

Then his thoughts turned to Hazeltine, and when 
he considered the wrong he had done that young man, 
he squirmed again. There wasn’t a doubt in his 
mind that Ralph felt exactly as Elsie did about his 
interference. Captain Jerry decided that he owed 
the electrician an apology, and determined to offer it 
at the first opportunity. 

And the opportunity came the very next morning, 
for Mrs. Snow wanted some clams for dinner, and 
asked him to dig some for her. The best clams in the 
vicinity were those in the flat across the bay near the 
cable station, and the Captain took his bucket and 
hoe and rowed over there. As he was digging, Ralph 
came strolling down to the shore. 

Mr. Hazeltine’s ” Good-morning ” was clear and 
hearty. Captain Jerry’s was hesitating and formal. 
The talk that followed was rather one-sided Finally, 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 239 


the Captain laid down his hoe, and came splashing 
over to where his friend was standing. 

“ Mr. Hazeltine,” he said confusedly, “ I kind of 
feel as if I ought to beg your pardon. I’m awful 
sorry I done what I did, but, as I said to Elsie, I 
meant well, and I’m sorry.” 

“ Sorry ? Sorry for what? ” 

“ Why, for leavin’ you and her alone so when you 
come to the house. You see, I never thought but 
what you’d both like it, and ’twa’n’t till she raked 
me over the coals so for doin’ it that I realized how 
things was.” 

“ Raked you over the coals? I’m afraid I don’t 
understand.” 

It is unnecessary to repeat the whole of the long 
and tangled conversation that ensued. The Captain 
tried to explain, tumbled down, metaphorically 
speaking, got up again, and started off on another 
tack. In his anxiety to make his position perfectly 
clear, he quoted from Elsie’s remarks of the previous 
evening, and then, thinking perhaps he had gone too 
far, tried to smooth these over by more explanations. 
Repeating this process several times got him into 
such a snarl that he scarcely knew what he was saying. 
When the agony was over Ralph had received the 
impression that Miss Preston had said his visits were 


240 


CAFN ERI 


a perfect torture to her, that she objected to being 
left alone with him, that she held Captain Jerry 
responsible for these things, and that the latter was 
sorry for something or other, though what it was 
he, Ralph, didn’t know or care particularly. To the 
Captain’s continued apologies he muttered absently 
that it was “ all right,” and walked slowly away with 
his hands in his pockets. Captain Jerry was relieved 
by this expression of forgiveness. He felt that the 
situation wasn’t what he would like to have it, but, 
at any rate, he had done his duty. This was a great 
consolation. 

Ralph didn’t call that evening or the next. When 
he did drop in it was merely to inquire concerning 
John Baxter’s progress, and to chat for a moment 
with the captains. His next visit was a week later, 
and was just as brief and formal. 

If Elsie noticed this sudden change she said 
nothing. There might have been some comment by 
the others, had not a new sensation so occupied their 
minds as to shut out everything else. This sensation 
was caused by Josiah Bartlett, who ran away one 
night, with his belongings tied up in a brown paper 
parcel, leaving a note saying that he had gone to 
enlist in the Navy and wasn’t coming back any more. 

There were lively times the next morning when the 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 241 


note was found. Captain Perez was for harnessing 
up immediately and starting off to find the lost one, 
hit or miss. Captain Eri soon showed him the folly 
of this proceeding and, instead, hurried to the railway 
station and sent a telegram describing the fugitive to 
the conductor of the Boston train. It caught the 
conductor at Sandwich, and the local constable at 
Buzzard’s Bay caught the boy. Josiah was luxuri- 
ously puffing a five-cent cigar in the smoking car, 
and it was a crest-fallen and humiliated prodigal that, 
accompanied by the afore-mentioned constable, re- 
turned to Orham that night. 

But the stubbornness remained, and the next day 
Perez sought Captain Eri in a troubled frame of 
mind. 

“ Eri,” he said dejectedly, “ I don’t know what 
I’m goin’ to do with that boy. He’s too many for 
me, that boy is. Seems he’s been plannin’ this runnin’ 
away bus’ness for more ’n a month; been doin’ 
errands and odd jobs ’round town and savin’ up his 
money on purpose. Says he won’t go back to school 
again, no matter what we do to him, and that he’s 
goin’ to git into the Navy if it takes ten year. He 
says he’ll run away again fust chance he gits, and 
he will, too. He’s got the sperit of the Old Scratch 
in him, and I can’t git it out. I’m clean discouraged 


24-2 


CAFN ERI 


and wore out, and I know that he’ll do somethin' 
pretty soon that '11 disgrace us all.” 

“ Humph ! ” exclaimed his friend. “ Stuffy as 
all that, is he? You don’t say! He ain’t a bad boy, 
that is a reel bad boy, either.” 

“ No, that’s jest it. He ain’t reel bad — ^yit. But 
he will be if he ain’t fetched up pretty sudden. 
’Course, I know what he needs is to be made to mind 
fust, and then preached to afterwards. And I know 
that nat’rally I’m the one that ought to do it, but 
I jest can’t — there! If I should start out to give 
him the dressin’ down he needs, I’d be thinkin’ of 
his mother every minute, and how I promised to treat 
him gentle and not be cross to him. But somethin’s 
got to be done, and if you can help me out any way 
I’ll never forgit it, Eri.” 

Captain Eri scratched his chin. “Humph!” he 
grunted reflectively. “ He couldn’t git into the 
Navy, he’s too young. More likely to be a stow- 
away on a merchantman and then roustabout on a 
cattle boat, or some such thing. Even if he lied ’bout 
his age and did git to be a sort of a ship’s boy on a 
sailin’ vessel, you and me know what that means 
nowadays. I presume likely ’twould end in his bein’ 
killed in some rumshop scrimmage later on. Let — ■ 
me — see. Bound to be a sailor, is he?” 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 243 


“ He’s dead sot on it.” 

“ More fool he. Conies from readin’ them ridic’- 
lous story books, I s’pose. He ain’t been on the water 
much sence he’s been down here, has he?” 

“ Not more ’n once or twice, except in a dory 
goin’ to the beach, or somethin’ like that.” 

“ That’s so, that’s what I thought. Well, Perez, 
I’ll tell you. The boy does need breakin’ in, that’s 
a fact, and I think maybe I could do it. I could use 
a young feller on my boat; to go coddin’ with me, I 
mean. Let me have the boy under me — ^no meddlin’ 
from anybody — for a couple of months. Let him 
sign reg’lar articles and ship ’long of me for that 
time. Maybe I could make a white man of him.” 

“ I don’t b’lieve he’d do it.” 

“ I cal’late I could talk him into it. There’s some 
butter on my tongue when it’s necessary.” 

“ You’d have to promise not to lay a hand on him 
in anger. That’s what I promised his mother.” 

“ All right, I promise it now. That’s all right, 
Perez. You and me are old shipmates, and bound to 
help each other out. Just trust him to me, and don’t 
ask too many questions. Is it a trade? Good! 
Shake.” 

They shook hands on it, and then Captain Eri went 
in to talk to the unreconciled runaway. That young 


244 


CAFN ERl 


gentleman, fresh from his triumph over his uncle, 
at first refused to have anything to do with the 
scheme. He wasn’t going to be a “ cheap guy fish- 
erman,” he was going into the Navy. The Captain 
did not attempt to urge him, neither did he preach 
or patronize. He simply leaned back in the rocker 
and began spinning sailor yarns. He told of all 
sorts of adventures in all climates, and with all sorts 
of people. He had seen everything under the sun, 
apparently, and, according to him, there was no life 
so free and void of all restraint as that of an able 
seaman on a merchant ship, or, preferably, on a 
fisherman ; but one point he made clear, and that was 
that, unless the applicant had had previous training, 
his lot was likely to be an unhappy one. 

“ Of course,” he said, as he rose to go, “ it was 
my idea to sort of train you up so’s you could be 
ready when ’twas time to ship, but long’s you don’t 
want to, why it’s all off.” 

“ I’ll go with you. Cap ! ” said Josiah, whose eyes 
were shining. 

“Good! That’s the talk! You might a% well 
sign articles right away. Wait till I git ’em ready.” 

He brought pen, ink, and paper, and proceeded 
to indite a formidable document to the effect that 
“ Josiah Bartlett, able seaman,” was to ship aboard 


JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT 245 


the catboat Mary Ellen for a term of two months. 
Wages, five dollars a month. 

“ You see,” he said, “ I’ve put you down as able 
seaman ’cause that’s what you’ll be when I git 
through with you. Now sign.” 

So Josiah signed, and then Captain Eri affixed his 
own signature with a flourish. 

“There!” exclaimed the Captain, bringing his 
big palm down on the back of the “ able seaman ” 
with a thump that brought water into the eyes of 
that proud youth, “ You’re my man, shipmate. We 
sail to-morrer mornin’ at four, rain or shine. I’ll 
call you at quarter of. Be ready.” 

“ You bet, old man ! ” said Josiah. 

Captain Perez met his friend as they came out of 
the parlor. 

“ Now, Eri,” he whispered, “ be easy as you can 
with him, won’t you?” 

The Captain answered in the very words of his 
crew. 

“You bet!” he said fervently, and went away 
whistlllig. Captain Perez slept better that night. 



CHAPTER XIV 


THE VOYAGE OF AN "ABLE SEAMAN’* 




^###^ROMPTLY at a quarter to four the 

# # next morning Captain Eri rapped on 

# K # the parlor door. Josiah, who had 
^ been dressed since three, appeared 

almost instantly. They walked down 
to the shore together, and the Captain’s eyes twin- 
kled as he noted the elaborate roll in the boy’s 
walk. 

The Merry Ellen was anchored between the beaches, 
and they rowed off to her in a dory. It was pitch- 
dark, and cold and raw. Lanterns showed on two 
or three of the other boats near by, and, as Josiah 
and the Captain pulled up the eelgrass-covered an- 
chor, a dim shape glided past in the blackness. It 
was the You and /, bound out. Ira Sparrow was at 
the helm, and he hailed the Mary Ellen, saying some- 
thing about the weather. 

“ It ^l be kind of ca’m for a spell,” replied 
246 


VOYAGE OF AN “ABLE SEAMAN" 247 


Captain Eri, “ but I wouldn’t wonder if we had some 
wind ’fore night. Here you, fo’mast hand,” he 
added, turning to Josiah, “ stand by to git the canvas 
on her.” 

The mainsail was soon hoisted, and the catboat 
moved slowly out of the bay. 

“Gee! it’s dark,” exclaimed Josiah. “What 
are you goin’ way off here for? Why don’t you 
go straight out? ” 

“ I gin’rally take the short cut through the nar- 
rers,” replied the Captain, “ but I thought you 
mightn’t like the breakers on the shoals, so I’m goin’ 
’round the p’int flat.” 

“ Huh ! I ain’t a-scared of breakers. Can’t be 
too rough for me. Wisht ’twould blow to beat the 
band.” 

“ Maybe ’twill by and by. Pretty toler’ble slick 
now, though.” f 

It was after sunrise when they reached the ledge 
where codfish most do congregate. The land was a 
mere yellow streak on the horizon. The stiff easterly 
blow of the day before had left a smooth, heavy 
swell that, tripping over the submerged ledge, alter- 
nately tossed the Mary Ellen high in air and dropped 
her toward the bottom. It was cold, and the newly 
risen December sun did not seem to have much 


248 


CAP’N ERI 


warmth in it. Anchor over the side, the Captain 
proposed breakfast. 

The “ able seaman ” did not feel very hungry, 
but be managed to swallow a hard-boiled egg and 
a sandwich, and then, just to show that he had 
reached the dignity of manhood, leaned back against 
the side of the cockpit, lit a cigarette, and ob- 
served cheerfully, “ This is hot stuff, ain’t it. 
Cap?” 

Captain Eri wiped the crumbs from his mouth, 
leisurely produced his pipe, and proceeded to fill it 
with tobacco shaved from a chunky plug. 

“ What d’you smoke them things for? ” he asked 
contemptuously, referring to the cigarette. “ No- 
body but dudes and sissies smoke that kind of 
truck. Here, take this pipe, and smoke like a 
man.” 

Josiah looked askance at the proffered pipe. 

“ Oh, no ! ” he said magnanimously, “ you’ll 
want it yourself. I’ll get along with these 
things till I git ashore; then I’ll buy a pipe of 
my own.” 

“ Never you mind ’bout me. I’ve got two or 
three more below there, some’eres. Take it and 
light up.” 

The “ able seaman ” took the reeking, nicotine- 


VOYAGE OF AN “ABLE SEAMAN” 249 


soaked affair, placed it gingerly between his teeth, 
held a match to the bowl and coughingly emitted a 
cloud of ill-smelling smoke. The pipe wheezed 
and gurgled, and the Mary Ellen rocked and 
rolled. 

“ Now, then,” said Captain Eri, “ we’ve sojered 
long enough. Go below, and bring up the bait 
bucket and the lines.” 

Josiah staggered into the little cabin, reappeared 
with the heavy cod lines and the bucket of mussels, 
and watched while the Captain “ baited up.” 

“All ready!” said the skipper. “Two lines 
apiece, one over each side. Watch me.” 

The cod bit almost immediately, and for ten 
minutes the work was exciting and lively. The Cap- 
tain, watching from the corner of his eye, noticed 
that his assistant’s pipe was wheezing less regularly, 
and that his lines were thrown over more and more 
listlessly. At length he said, “ Haven’t stopped 
smokin’ so quick, have you? What’s the matter — 
gone out? Here’s a match.” 

“ I guessed I’ve smoked enough for now. I can’t 
fish so well when I’m smokin’.” 

“ Bosh I If you want to be a reel sailor you must 
smoke all the time. Light up.” 

Reluctantly the boy obeyed, and puffed with fever- 


250 


CAFN ERI 


ish energy. Also he swallowed with vigor. The 
cod smelt fishy; so did the bait, and the catboat rolled 
and rolled. Suddenly Josiah pulled in his lines, and 
took the pipe from his lips. 

“What’s the matter?” inquired the watchful 
skipper. 

“ I — I guess I won’t fish any more. Cap. Kind 
of slow sport, ain’t it? Guess I’ll go in there and 
take a snooze.” 

“I guess you won’t! You shipped to fish, and 
you’re goin’ to fish. Pick up them lines.” 

The boy sullenly turned toward the cabin door. 
Was he, who had just declared himself independent 
of school restraint, he who had once been the thorn 

in the flesh of every policeman in the th ward, 

to be ordered about by this Cape Cod countryman! 
“ Aw, go chase yourself ! ” he said contemptuously. 
A minute after, when he picked himself up from 
the heap of slimy fish in the bottom of the boat, 
he saw the Captain standing solidly on one cowhide- 
shod foot, while the other was drawn easily back 
and rested on its toe. When Josiah recovered his 
breath, the burst of bad language with which he as- 
sailed his companion did credit to his street bringing 
up. It was as short as it was fierce, however, and 
ended amid the cod and the mussels from the over- 


VOYAGE OF AN “ABLE SEAMAN’* 25* 


turned bait bucket. But, as the Captain said after- 
wards, he was “ spunky ” and rose again, incoherent 
with rage. 

“ You — you — I’ll kill you ! ” he shrieked. “ You 
promised not to touch me, you lyin’ old ” 

He tried to get out of the way, but didn’t succeed, 
and this time merely sat up and sobbed as Captain 
Eri said in even tones: 

“ No, I’m not lyin’. I promised not to lay a 
hand on you in anger, that’s all. Fust place, I don’t 
kick with my hands, and, second place, I ain’t angry. 
Now, then, pick up them lines.” 

The “able seaman” was frightened. This sort 
of treatment was new to him. He judged it best to 
obey now and “ get square ” later on. He sulkily 
picked up the codlines, and threw the hooks over- 
board. Captain Eri, calmly resuming his fishing, 
went on to say, The fust thing a sailor has to I’arn 
is to obey orders. I see you’ve stopped smokin’. 
Light up.” 

“ I don’t want to.” 

“ Well, I want you to. Light up.” 

“ I won’t. Oh, yes, I will ! ” 

He eyed the threatening boot fearfully and lit 
the awful pipe with shaking fingers. But he had 
taken but a few puffs when it went over the side, and 


252 


CAFN ERI 


it seemed to Josiah that the larger half of himself 
went with it. The Captain watched the paroxysm 
grimly. 

“Sick, hey?” he grunted, “and not a capful of 
wind stirrin’. You’re a healthy sailor! I thought 
I’d shipped a man, but I see ’twas only a sassy baby. 
My uncle Labe had a good cure for seasickness. 
You take a big hunk of fat salt pork, dip it in mo- 
lasses, and ” 

“ Oh, d-o-n-’t ! ” Another spasm. 

“ Dip it in molasses,” repeated Captain Eri. 

“Don’t, Cap! Please donW" 

“ Another thing a sailor learns is not to call his 
skipper ‘ Cap.’ A fo’mast hand always says ‘ Aye, 
aye, sir,’ when his off’cer speaks to him. Understand 
that?” 

“Y-e-s. Oh, Lord!” 

“What?’’ 

“ Ye — I mean aye, aye.” 

“ Aye, aye, what? ” 

“ Aye, aye, sir! Oh, dear me 1 ” 

“ That’s better. Now pick up them lines.” 

Well, ’twas a dreadful forenoon for Josiah; one 
not to be forgotten. The boat rolled unceasingly, 
his head ached, and pulling the heavy cod made his 
back and shoulders lame ; also, he was wet and cold. 


VOYAGE OF AN ‘‘ABLE SEAMAN" 253 


The other boats scattered about the fishing grounds 
pulled up their anchors and started for home, but 
Captain Eri did not budge. At noon he opened his 
lunch basket again, and munched serenely. The sight 
of the greasy ham sandwiches was too much for the 
“ able seaman.” He suffered a relapse and, when 
it was over, tumbled on the seat which encircled 
the cockpit and, being completely worn out, went 
fast asleep. The Captain watched him for a minute 
or two, smiled in a not unkindly way, and, going 
into the cabin, brought out an old pea jacket and 
some other wraps with which he covered the sleeper. 
Then he went back to his fishing. 

When Josiah awoke the Mary Ellen was heeled 
over on her side, her sail as tight as a drumhead, 
The wind was whistling through the cordage, and 
the boat was racing through seas that were steel- 
blue and angry, with whitecaps on their crests. The 
sun was hidden by tumbling, dust-colored clouds. 
The boy felt weak and strangely humble; the dread- 
ful nausea was gone. 

Captain Eri, standing at the tiller, regarded him 
sternly, but there was the suspicion of a twinkle in 
his eye. 

“Peelin’ better?” he asked. 

“ Ye — aye, aye, sir.” 


254 


CAFN ERI 


“Humph! Want to smoke again. Pipe right 
there on the thwart.” 

“ No, thank you, sir.” 

It was some time before anything more was said. 
Josiah was gazing at the yellow sand-cliffs that, on 
every tack, grew nearer. At length the Captain again 
addressed him. 

“ Perez ever tell you ’bout our fust v’yage? 
Never did, hey? Well, I will. Him and me run 
away to sea together, you know.” 

And then Captain Eri began a tale that caused 
the cold shivers to chase themselves from Joslah’s 
big toe to the longest hair on his head. It was the 
story of two boys who ran away and shipped aboard 
an Australian sailing packet, and contained more 
first-class horrors than any one of his beloved dime 
novels. As a finishing touch the narrator turned 
back the grizzled hair on his forehead and showed 
a three-inch scar, souvenir of a first mate and a 
belaying pin. He rolled up his flannel shirtsleeve 
and displayed a slightly misshapen left arm, broken 
by a kick from a drunken captain and badly set by 
the same individual. 

“ Now,” he said in conclusion, “ I cal’late you 
think I was pretty hard on you this mornin’, 
but what do you figger that you’d have got 


VOYAGE OF AN “ABLE SEAMAN” 255 


if you talked to a mate the way you done to 
me?” 

“ Don’t know. S’pose I’d have been killed, — sir.” 

“ Well, you would, mighty nigh, and that’s a fact. 
Now, I’ll tell you somethin’ else. You wanted to 
enlist in the Navy, I understand. You couldn’t git 
in the Navy, anyway, you’re too young, but s’pose 
you could, what then? You’d never git any higher 
’n a petty officer, ’cause you don’t know enough. The 
only way to git into the Navy is to go through An- 
napolis, and git an education. I tell you, education 
counts. Me and Perez would have been somethin’ 
more ’n cheap fishin’ and coastin’ skippers if we’d 
had an education ; don’t forgit that.” 

“ I guess I don’t want to be a sailor, anyway, sir. 
This one trip is enough for me, thank you.” 

“ Can’t help that. You shipped ’long with me 
for two months, and you’ll sail with me for two 
months, every time I go out. You won’t run away 
again neither. I’ll look out for that. You’ll sail with 
me and you’ll help clean fish, and you’ll mind me 
and you’ll say ‘ sir.’ You needn’t smoke if you don’t 
want to,” with a smile. “ I ain’t p’tic’lar ’bout that. 

“ Then,” went on the Captain, “ when the two 
months is up you’ll be your own master again. You 
can go back to ‘Web’ Saunders and ‘Squealer’ 


256 


CAFN ERI 


Wixon and ‘ Ily ’ Tucker and their tribe, if you 
want to, and be a town nuisance and a good-for- 
nuthin’. Or you can do this: You can go to school 
for a few years more and behave yourself and then, 
if I’ve got any influence with the Congressman from 
this district — and I sort of b’lieve I have, second- 
handed, at any rate — you can go to Annapolis and 
learn to be a Navy officer. That’s my offer. You’ve 
got a couple of months to think it over in.” 

The catboat swung about on her final tack and 
stood in for the narrows, the route which the Cap- 
tain had spoken of as the “ short cut.” From where 
Josiah sat the way seemed choked with lines of roar- 
ing, frothing breakers that nothing could approach 
and keep above water. But Captain Eri steered the 
Mary Ellen through them as easily as a New York 
cabdriver guides his vehicle through a jam on Broad- 
way, picking out the smooth places and avoiding 
the rough ones until the last bar was crossed and the 
boat entered the sheltered waters of the bay. 

“ By gum ! ” exclaimed the enthusiastic “ able 
seaman.” “ That was great — er — sir ! ” 

“ That’s part of what I’ll I’arn you in the next 
two months,” said the Captain. “ ’Twon’t do you 
any harm to know it when you’re in the Navy 
neither. Stand by to let go anchor I ” 


CHAPTER XV 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 


# 


Josiah expected any relaxation in 
# T # Captain Eri’s stern discipline he was 

^ I S disappointed, for he was held to the 

strict letter of the “ shipping articles.” 
The Captain even went to the length 
of transferring Perez to the parlor cot and of com- 
pelling the boy to share his own room. This was, 
of course, a precaution against further attempts at 
running away. Morning after morning the pair 
rose before daylight and started for the fishing 
grounds. There were two or three outbreaks on the 
part of the “ able seaman,” but they ended in but 
one way, complete submission. After a while Josiah, 
being by no means dull, came to realize that when 
he behaved like a man be was treated like one. He 
learned to steer the Mary Ellen, and to handle her 
in all weathers. Also, his respect for Captain Eri 
developed into a liking. 


2S8 


CAFN ERI 


Captain Perez was gratified and delighted at the 
change in his grandnephew’s behavior and manners, 
and was not a little curious to learn the methods by 
which the result had been brought about. His hints 
being fruitless, he finally asked his friend point-blank. 
Captain Eri’s answer was something like this: 

“ Perez,” he said, “ do you remember old man 
Sanborn, that kept school here when you and me was 
boys? Well, when the old man run foul of a young- 
ster that was sassy and uppish he knocked the sass 
out of him fust, and then talked to him like a Dutch 
uncle. He used to call that kind of treatment ‘ moral 
suasion.’ That’s what Pm doin’ to Josiah; Pm 
‘ moral suasionin’ him.” 

Captain Perez was a little anxious concerning the 
first part of this course of training, but its results 
were so satisfactory that he asked no more questions. 
The fact is, Captain Perez’ mind was too much occu- 
pied with another subject just at this time to allow 
him to be over-anxious. The other subject was Miss 
Patience Davis. 

Miss Davis, her visit with her brother being over, 
was acting as companion to an old lady who lived 
in a little house up the shore, a mile or so above the 
station. This elderly female, whose name was Mayo, 
had a son who kept a grocery store in the village 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 


259 


and was, therefore, obliged to be away all day and 
until late in the evening. Miss Patience found Mrs. 
Mayo’s crotchets a bit trying, but the work was easy 
and to her liking, and she was, as she said, “ right 
across the way, as you might say, from Luther.” 
The “ way ” referred to was the stretch of water 
between the outer beach and the mainland. 

And Captain Perez was much interested in Miss 
Patience — very much so, indeed. His frequent visits 
to the Mayo homestead furnished no end of amuse- 
ment to Captain Eri, and also to Captain Jerry, who 
found poking fun at his friend an agreeable change 
from the old programme of being the butt himself. 
He wasn’t entirely free from this persecution, how- 
ever, for Eri more than once asked him, in tones 
the sarcasm of which was elaborately veiled, if his 
match-making scheme had gotten tired and was sit- 
ting down to rest. To which the sacrifice would 
reply stoutly, “Oh, it’s cornin’ out all right; you 
wait and see.” 

But in his heart Captain Jerry knew better. He 
had been wise enough to say nothing to his friends 
concerning his interviews with Elsie and Ralph, but 
apparently the breaking-off between the pair was 
final. Hazeltine called occasionally, it is true, but 
his stays were short and, at the slightest inclination 


26 o 


CAFN ERl 


shown by the older people to leave the room, he left 
the house. There was some comment by Eri and 
Mrs. Snow on this sudden change, but they were far 
from suspecting the real reason. Elsie continued to 
be as reticent as she had been of late; her school 
work was easier now that Josiah was no longer a 
pupil. 

Christmas was rather a failure. There were 
presents, of course, but the planned festivities were 
omitted owing to a change in John Baxter’s condi- 
tion. From growing gradually better, he now grew 
slowly, but surely, worse. Dr. Palmer’s calls were 
more frequent, and he did not conceal from Mrs. 
Snow or the captains his anxiety. They hid much of 
this from Elsie, but she, too, noticed the change, and 
was evidently worried by it. Strange to say, as his 
strength ebbed, the patient’s mind grew clearer. His 
speech, that in his intervals of consciousness had 
heretofore dealt with events of the past, was now 
more concerned with recent happenings. But Cap- 
tain Eri had never heard him mention the fire. 

One afternoon in January Mrs. Snow and Cap- 
tain Eri were together in the sick room. The rest 
of the household was absent on various errands; 
Captain Perez paying a visit to the life-saver’s sister 
and Elsie staying after school to go over some exami- 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 


261 


nation papers. There was snow on the ground, and 
a “ Jinooary thaw ” was causing the eaves to drip, 
and the puddles in the road to grow larger. The 
door of the big stove was open, and the coals within 
showed red-hot. Captain Baxter was apparently 
asleep. 

“ Let me see,” said Mrs. Snow musingly, in a low 
tone. “ I’ve been here now, two, three, over four 
months. Seems longer, somehow.” 

“ Seems almost as if you’d always been here,” re- 
plied Captain Eri. “ Queer how soon we git used 
to a change. I don’t know how we got along afore, 
but we did some way or other, if you call it gittin’ 
along,” he added with a shrug. “ I should hate to 
have to try it over again.” 

“ It’s always seemed funny to me,” remarked the 
lady, “ that you men, all sailors so — and used to doin’ 
for yourselves, should have had such a time when 
you come to try keepin’ house. I should have ex- 
pected it if you was — well, doctors, or somethin’ like 
that — used to havin’ folks wait on you, but all sea 
captains, it seems queer.” 

“ It does, don’t it ? I’ve thought of that myself. 
Anybody’d think we was the most shif’less lot that 
ever lived, but we wa’n’t. Even Jerry — and he’s the 
wust one of the three when it comes to leavin’ things 


262 


CAFN ERl 


at loose ends — always had a mighty neat vessel, and 
had the name of makin’ his crews toe the mark. I 
honestly b’lieve it come of us bein’ on shore and 
runnin’ the shebang on a share and share alike idee. 
If there’d been a skipper, a feller to boss things, 
we’d have done better, but when all hands was boss 
— nobody felt like doin’ anything. Then, too, we 
begun too old. A feller gits sort of sot in his ways, 
and it’s hard to give in to the other chap. 

“ Now, take that marryin’ idee,” he went on. “ I 
laughed at that a good deal at fust and didn’t really 
take any stock in it, but I guess ’twas real boss sense, 
after all. Anyhow, it brought you down here, and 
what we’d done without you when John was took 
sick, I don’t know. I haven’t said much about it, 
but I’ve felt enough, and I know the other fellers 
feel the same way. You’ve been so mighty good 
and put up with so many things that must have 
fretted you like the nation, and the way you’ve man- 
aged — ^my ! ” 

The whole-souled admiration in the Captain’s 
voice made the housekeeper blush like a girl. 

“ Don’t say a word, Cap’n Eri,” she protested. 
“ It’s been jest a pleasure to me, honest. I’ve had 
more comfort and — well, peace, you might say, sence 
I’ve been in this house than I’ve had afore for years.” 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 263 


“ When I think,” said the Captain, “ of what we 
might have got for that advertisement, I swan it 
makes my hair curl. Advertisin’ that way in that 
kind of a paper, why we might have had a — a play 
actress, or I don’t know what, landed on us. 
Seems ’s if there was a Providence in it : seems ’s if 
you was kind of sent — there! ” 

“ I don’t know what you must think of me an- 
swerin’ an advertisement for a husband that way. 
It makes me ’shamed of myself when I think of it, 
I declare. And in that kind of a paper, too.” 

“ I’ve wondered more times than a few how you 
ever got a hold of that paper. ’Tain’t one you’d 
see every day nat’rally, you know.” 

Mrs. Snow paused before she answered. Then 
she said slowly, ” Well, I’m s’prised you ain’t asked 
that afore. I haven’t said much about myself sence 
I’ve been here, for no p’tic’lar reason that I know 
of, except that there wasn’t much to tell and it wasn’t 
a very interestin’ yam to other folks. My husband’s 

name was Jubal Snow ” 

“ You don’t say ! ” exclaimed the Captain. “ Why, 
Jerry used to know him.” 

“ I shouldn’t wonder. Jubal knew a lot of folks 
on the Cape here. He was a good husband — no 
better anywheres — and he and I had a good life 


264 


CAFN ERl 


together long as he was well. I’ve sailed a good 
many v’yages with him, and I feel pretty nigh as 
much at home on the water as I do on land. Our 
trouble was the same that a good many folks have; 
we didn’t cal’late that fair weather wouldn’t last 
all the time, that’s all. 

“ It wasn’t his fault any more than ’twas mine. 
We saved a little money, but not enough, as it turned 
out. Well, he was took down sick and had to give 
up goin’ to sea, and we had a little place over in 
Nantucket, and settled down on it. Fust along, 
Jubal was able to do a little farmin’ and so on, and 
we got along pretty well, but by and by he got so 
he wa’n’t able to work, and then ’twas harder. What 
little we’d saved went for doctor’s bills and this, 
that, and t’other. He didn’t like to have me leave 
him, so I couldn’t earn much of anything, and fin’lly 
we come to where somethin’ had to be done right 
away, and we talked the thing over and decided to 
mortgage the house. The money we got on the 
mortgage lasted until he died. 

“ He had a little life insurance, not enough, of 
course, but a little. He was plannin’ to take on 
more, but somehow it never seemed as if he could 
die, he so big and strong, and we put it off until he 
got so he couldn’t pass the examination. When 


IN JOHN BAXTER'S ROOM 265 


the insurance money come I took it to Jedge Briar, a 
mighty good friend of Jubal’s and mine and the one 
that held the mortgage on the house, and I told him 
I wanted to pay off the mortgage with it, so’s 
I’d have the house free and clear. But the Jedge 
advised me not to, said the mortgage was costin’ 
me only six per cent., and why didn’t I put the money 
where ’twas likely to be a good investment that 
would pay me eight or ten per cent.? Then I’d be 
makin’ money, he said. I asked him to invest it for 
me, and he put it into the Bay Shore Land Company, 
where most of his own was.” 

“ Sho ! I want to know ! ” broke in the Captain. 
“He did, hey! Well, I had some there, too, and 
so did Perez. Precious few fam’lies on the Cape 
that didn’t.” 

“Yes, he thought ’twas the safest and best place 
he knew of. The officers bein’ sons of Cape people 
and their fathers such fine men, everybody said ’twas 
all right. I got my dividends reg’lar for a while, 
and I went out nussin’ and did sewin’ and got along 
reel well. I kept thinkin’ some day I’d be able to 
pay off the mortgage and I put away what little I 
could towards it, but then I was took sick and that 
money went, and then the Land Company went up 
the spout.” 


266 


CAFN ERl 


The Captain nodded. The failure of the com- 
pany had brought poverty to hundreds of widows. 
Mrs. Snow’s case was but another instance. 

“Let me see,” said the lady. “Where was I? 
Oh, yes ! the Land Company’s failin’. Well, it failed 
and the insurance money went with it. It was dis- 
couragin’, of course, but I had my house, except for 
the mortgage, and I had my health again, and, if I 
'do say it, I ain’t afraid of work, so I jest made 
up my mind there was no use cryin’ over spilt milk, 
and that I must git along and begin to save all 
over again. Then Jedge Briar died and his nephew 
up to Boston come into the property. I was behind 
in my payments a little, and they sent me word they 
should foreclose the mortgage, and they did.” 

“Well, I swan! The mean sculpins! Didn’t 
you have nobody you could go to; no relations nor 
nothin’ ? ” 

“ I’ve got a brother out in Chicago, but he married 
rich and his wife doesn’t care much for her husband’s 
relations. I never saw her but once, and then one 
of the first things she asked me was if it was true 
that there was more crazy people in Nantucket than 
in any other place of its size on earth, and afore I 
could answer she asked me what made ’em crazy. 
I told her I didn’t know unless it was answerin’ dty 


IN JOHN BAXTER^S ROOM 267 


folks’ questions. She didn’t like that very well, and 
I haven’t heard from Job — that’s my brother — for 
a long time. All my other near relations are dead. 

“So they foreclosed the mortgage, and gave me 
notice to move out. I packed my things, and watered 
my flowers — I had quite a pretty flower garden — 
for the last time, and then come in and set down in 
the rocker to wait for the wagon that was goin’ to 
move me. I got to thinkin’ how proud Jubal and 
me was when we bought that house and how w^e 
planned about fixin’ it up, and how our baby that 
died was born in It, and how Jubal himself had died 
there, and told me that he was glad he was leavin’ 
me a home, at any rate; and I got so lonesome and 
discouraged that I jest cried, I couldn’t help it. But 
I’ve never found that cryin’ did much good, so I 
wiped my eyes and looked for somethin’ to read 
to take up my mind. And that Chime paper was 
what I took up. 

“ You see, there’d been a big excursion from 
Boston down the day before, and some of the folks 
come down my way to have a sort of picnic. Two 
of ’em, factory girls from Brockton, they was, come 
to the house for a drink of water. They were gig- 
glin’, foolish enough critters, but I asked ’em In, and 
they eat their lunches on my table. They left twa 


268 


CAFN ERI 


or three story papers and that Chime thing when they 
went away. 

“ Well, I looked it over, and almost the first thing 
I saw was that advertisement signed ‘ Skipper.’ It 
didn’t read like the other trashy things in there, and 
it sounded honest. And all of a sudden it come over 
me that I’d answer it. I was lonesome and tired 
and sort of didn’t care, and I answered it right off 
without waitin another minute. That’s all there is 
to tell. When I come here to be housekeeper I 
wrote the folks that’s takin’ care of my furniture 
— they’re reel kind people; I was goin’ to board 
there if I had stayed in Nantucket — to keep it 
till I come back. There! I meant to tell you this 
long ago, and I don’t know why I haven’t.” 

The Captain knew why she hadn’t. It was easy 
to read between the lines the tale of the years of 
disappointment and anxiety. Such stories are not 
easy to tell, and he respected the widow more than 
ever for the simple way in which she had told 
hers. 

“ That Land Company bus’ness,” be said, “ car- 
ried off a good lot of Cape Cod money. I never saw 
but one man that I thought was glad it busted, and 
that was old Caleb Weeks, over to Harniss. The 
old man was rich, but closer ’n the bark of a tree 


IN JOHN BAXTER'!; ROOM 269 


— he’d skin a flea for the hide and taller — and used 
to be a hard case into the bargain. One time they 
had a big revival over there and he got religion. 
The boys used to say what caught Caleb was the 
minister’s sayin’ salvation was free. Well, any- 
how, he got converted and j’ined the church. That 
was all right, only while the fit was fresh he pledged 
himself to give five hundred dollars to help build 
the new chapel. When he cooled down a little he 
was sorry, and every time they’d hint at his cornin’ 
down with the cash, he’d back and fill, and put it off 
for a spell. When the Land Company went up he 
was the only happy one in town, ’cause he said he’d 
lost all his money. Course, under the circumstances, 
they couldn’t ask him to pay, so he didn’t. From 
what I hear he lost as much as fifty dollars.” 

They both laughed, and Mrs. Snow was about 
to answer when she was interrupted. 

“ Eri,” said a weak voice. “ Eri.” 

The Captain started, turned sharply, and saw the 
sick man watching him, his eyes fixed and unwaver- 
ing. 

“ Eri,” said John Baxter again, “ come here.” 

Mrs. Snow hurried to her patient, but the latter 
impatiently bade her let him alone. 

“ Not you,” he said, “ I want Eri.” 


^"]0 


CAFN ERl 


Captain Eri stooped down beside the bed. 

“ What is it, John ? ” he asked. 

“ Eri, s’pose God called you to break man’s law 
and keep his, what would you do ? ” 

The Captain glanced anxiously at the house* 
keeper. Then he said soothingly: 

“ Oh, that’s all right, John. Don’t worry ’bout 
that. You and me settled that long ago. How are 
you feelin’ now ? ” 

“ I know, I know,” with the monotonous persist- 
ence of those whose minds are wandering, — and 
then clearly once more, “ Eri, I’ve been called.” 

“Ssh-h! That’s all right, John; that’s all right. 
Don’t you want Mrs. Snow to fix your piller? 
P’raps you’d lay a little easier, then. Now, Mrs. 
Snow, if you’ll jest turn it while I lift him. So; 
that’s better now, ain’t it, shipmate, hey? ” 

But the sick man muttered an unintelligible some- 
thing, and relapsed once more into the half-doze, 
half-stupor that was his usual state. 

Captain Eri sighed in relief. 

“ That was queer, wa’n’t it? ” he observed. 

“ He’s had two or three of those spells in the last 
day or two,” was the answer. 

The Captain wondered what his friend might 
have said during those “ spells,” but he was afraid 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 


2yt 


to inquire. Instead, he asked, “ What did the doc- 
tor say when he was here this mornin’ ? ” 

“ Nothin’ very hopeful. I asked him plain what 
he thought of the case, and he answered jest as plain. 
He said Cap’n Baxter had failed dreadful in the last 
week, and that he wouldn’t be s’prised if he dropped 
off most any time. Then again, he said he might 
live for months.” 

“ I see, I see.” 

They were silent for a while, watching the sick 
man, whose sleep, or stupor, was not as tranquil as 
usual. Two or three times his eyes opened, and he 
muttered audibly. 

“ I never saw him so restless afore,” commented 
Captain Eri anxiously. 

“ He was so last night.” 

“ Did Elsie see him? ” 

“No, I was alone here, and she was asleep In 
the next room. I got up and shut the door.” 

The Captain glanced keenly at the housekeeper, 
but her face was placid and inscrutable. He shifted 
uneasily and then said, “ Elsie’s late to-night, ain’t 
she? I wonder what’s keepin’ her.” 

“ School work, I s’pose. She’s workin’ harder ’n 
she ought to, I think.” 

^‘Firer’ 


272 


CAFN ERI 


The word was shouted, and the room rang with 
it. John Baxter, whose weakness had hitherto 
been so great that he could not turn himself in bed, 
was leaning on his elbow and pointing with out- 
stretched finger to the open stove door. 

“ Fire ! ” he shouted again. “ It’s blazin’ I It’s 
burnin’ ! It’s wipin’ the plague spot from the earth. 
I hear you. Lord ! I’m old, but I hear you, and your 
servant’s ready. Where will it be to-morrer? 
Gone! burnt up! and the ways of the wicked shan’t 
prevail.” 

They forced him back on the pillow, but he fought 
them fiercely for a moment or two. After they 
thought they had quieted him, he broke out again, 
talking rapidly and clearly. 

“ I hear the call. Lord,” he said. “ I thank thee 
for showin’ it to me in your Book. ‘ And they 
burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all 
their goodly castles, with fire.’ With fire! With 
fire!” 

“Ssh-h! There, there, John! Don’t talk so,” 
entreated the Captain. 

“ Where’s the kerosene? ” continued the old man. 
“And the matches? Now softly, softly. The 
shavin’s. It’s dark. Here, in the corner. Ah, ha! 
ah, ha ! ‘ And all their goodly castles with fire I * 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 


273 


Now, Web Saunders, you wicked man! Now! 
Burn! I’ve done it, Lord! I’ve done it! ” 

“ Hush ! ” almost shouted the agonized Captain 
Eri. “Hush, John! Be still!” 

“ There, there, Cap’n Baxter,” said Mrs. Snow 
soothingly, laying her hand on the sick man’s fore- 
head. Somehow, the touch seemed to quiet him ; his 
eyes lost their fire, and he muttered absently that he 
was tired. Then the eyes closed and he lay still, 
breathing heavily. 

“ Land of love ! ” exclaimed the Captain. “ That 
was awful! Hadn’t I better go for the doctor? ” 

“ I don’t think so, unless he gits worse. He had 
jest such a turn, as I told you, last night.” 

“ Did he talk like he did jest now?” 

“ Jest the same.” 

“ ’Bout the same things? ” 

“ Yes.” 

The Captain gasped. “ Then you knew ! ” he 
said. 

“ That he set the billiard room afire ? Yes. I’ve 
always rather suspicioned that he did, and last night, 
of course, made me sure of it.” 

“Well, well! You haven’t said nothin’ ’bout it to 
anybody? ” 

“ Of course not.” 


274 


CAP’N ERI 


“ No, ’course you haven’t. You must excuse me — 
I’m kind of upset, I guess. Dear! dear! Did you 
think / knew it? ” 

“ I sort of guessed that you did.” 

“ Well, I did. I’ve known it ever sence that night 
he was found. He had his coat on when I found 
him, and ’twas all burnt, and there was an empty 
kerosene bottle in his pocket. I hid the coat, and 
threw the bottle away, and turned him so he was 
facin’ towards the saloon ’stead of from it. And I 
lied when I told the doctor that he was jest as he fell. 
There! the murder’s out! Now, what do you think 
of me?” 

“Think? I think you did exactly right.” 

“ You do? ” 

“ I sartinly do.” 

“ Well, I snum ! I’ve been over that thing time 
and time again, and I’ve felt like I was sort of a fire^ 
bug myself sometimes. I’ve heard folks layin’ it to 
fust one and then the other, and cal’latin’ that Web 
did it himself to git the insurance, and all the time 
I’ve known who really did do it, and haven’t said 
anything. I jest couldn’t. You see, John and me’s 
been brothers almost. But I didn’t s’pose anybody 
else would see it the same way.” 

“ Cap’n Eri, do you s’pose I blame you for tryin’ 


IN JOHN BAXTER’S ROOM 275 

to keep your best friend out of trouble that he got 
into by bein’ — well — out of his head. Why, land of 
mercy ! He ain’t no more to be held responsible than 
a baby. You did what I’d have done if I’d been in 
your place, and I respect you for it.” 

The Captain’s voice shook as he answered : 

“ Marthy Snow,” he said, “ you’re the kind of 
woman that I’d like to have had for a sister.” 

It was perhaps a half-hour later when Captain Eri 
started for the schoolhouse to bring Elsie home. 
John Baxter had not wakened, and Mrs. Snow said 
she was not afraid to remain alone with him. The 
thaw had turned to a light rain and the Captain car- 
ried an umbrella. It was dark by this time, and when 
he came in sight of the schoolhouse he saw a light in 
the window. 

One of the scholars — a by no means brilliant one^ — 
whose principal educational achievement was the fre- 
quency with which he succeeded in being ” kept after 
school,” was seated on the fence, doing his best to 
whittle it to pieces with a new jackknife. 

“ Hello, sonny ! ” said the Captain. “ Miss Pres- 
ton gone yit? ” 

“ No, she ain’t,” replied the boy, continuing to 
whittle. ” She’s up there. Mr. Saunders is there, 
too.” 


CAPN ERI 


^76 

“Saunders? Web Saunders? 

“ Yup. I see him go in there a little while ago.” 

Captain Eri started toward the schoolhouse at a 
rapid pace; then he suddenly stopped; and then, as 
suddenly, walked on again. All at once he dropped 
his umbrella and struck one hand into the palm of the 
other with a smack. 

When he reached the door, he leaned the umbrella 
in the corner and walked up the stairs very softly, 
indeed. 


CHAPTER XVI 


A BUSINESS CALL 


enterprising business man, Mr. 

# rr-T © “ Web ” Saunders, opened the door 

# I # of his renovated billiard room a little 


# 


0 


later than usual the next morning. It 
was common report about the village 
that Mr. Saunders occasionally sampled the contents 
of some of the “ original packages ” which, bearing 
the name and address of a Boston wholesale liquor 
dealer, came to him by express at irregular intervals. 
It was also reported, probably by unreliable total 
abstainers, that during these “ sampling ” seasons his 
temper was not of the best. Perhaps Mrs. Saunders 
might have said something concerning this report if 
she had been so disposed, but unless a discolored eye 
might be taken as evidence, she never offered any. 
The injury to her eye she explained by saying that 
something “ flew up and hit her.” This was no doubt 
true. 


27S 


CAP’N ERI 


But, gossip aside, Mr. Saunders did not seem in 
good humor on this particular morning. A yellow 
cur, of nondescript breed, taken since the fire, in pay- 
ment of a debt from “ Squealer” Wixon, who had 
described it as a “ fust-class watchdog,” rose from its 
bed behind the cigar counter, yawned, stretched, and 
came slinking over to greet its master. “ Web ” 
forcibly hoisted it out of the door on the toe of his 
boot. Its yelp of pained surprise seemed to afford the 
business man considerable relief, for he moved more 
briskly afterward, and proceeded to sweep the floor 
with some degree of speed. 

The forenoon trade at the billiard room was never 
very lively, and this forenoon was no exception. 
“ Bluey ” Batcheldor drifted in, stepped into the little 
room the door of which was lettered “ Ice Cream 
Parlor,” and busied himself with a glass and bottle 
for a few moments. Then he helped himself to a 
cigar from the showcase, and told his friend to “ chalk 
k up.” This Mr. Saunders didn’t seem to care to 
do, and there was a lively argument. At length 
” Bluey’s ” promise to “ square up in a day or so ” 
was accepted, under protest, and the customer de- 
parted. 

At half-past eleven the man of business was dozing 
in a chair by the stove, and the “ watchdog,” having 


A BUSINESS CALL 


279 


found it chilly outside and venturing in, was dozing 
near him. The bell attached to the door rang vigor- 
ously, and both dog and man awoke with a start. 
The visitor was Captain Eri. 

Now, the Captain was perhaps the last person 
whom the proprietor of the billiard room expected 
to see, but a stranger never would have guessed it. In 
fact, the stranger might reasonably have supposed 
that the visitor was Mr. Saunders’ dearest friend, 
and that his call was a pleasure long looked for- 
ward to. 

“ Why, Cap’n ! ” exclaimed “ Web,” “ how are 
you ? Put her there ! I’m glad to see you lookin’ so 
well. I said to ‘ Squealer ’ the other day, s’l, 
‘ Squealer, I never see a man hold his age like 
Cap’n Hedge. I’ll be blessed if he looks a day 
over forty,’ I says. Take off your coat, won’t 
you?” 

Somehow or other, the Captain must have lost 
sight of “ Web’s ” extended hand. Certainly, the 
hand was large enough to be seen, but he did not take 
it. He did, however, accept the invitation to remove 
his coat, and, slipping out of the faded brown pea 
jacket, threw it on a settee at the side of the room. 
His face was stern and his manner quiet, and in spite 
of Mr. Saunders’ flattering reference to his youthful 


CAFN ERl 


280 

appearance, this morning he looked at least more 
than a day past forty. 

But, if Captain Eri was more than usually quiet 
and reserved, “ Web ” was unchanged, and, if he 
noticed that the handshake was declined, said nothing 
about it. His smile was sweetness itself, as he ob- 
served, “ Well, Cap’n, mighty mod’rate weather 
we’re having for this time of year, ain’t it? What’s 
new down your way? That’s right, have a chair.” 

The Captain had no doubt anticipated this cordial 
invitation, for he seated himself before it was given, 
and, crossing his legs, extended his dripping rubber 
boots toward the fire. The rain was still falling, and 
it beat against the windows of the saloon in gusts. 

“ Web,” said Captain Eri, “ set down a minute. I 
want to talk to you.” 

“ Why, sure ! ” exclaimed the genial man of busi- 
ness, pulling up another chair. “ Have a cigar, won’t 
you? You don’t come to see me very often, and I 
feel’s though we ought to celebrate. Ha! ha! ha I ” 
; “ No, I guess not, thank you,” was the answer- 

“ I’ll smoke my pipe, if it’s all the same to you.” 

Mr. Saunders didn’t mind in the least, but thought 
he would have a cigar himself. So he lit one and 
smoked in silence as the Captain filled his pipe. 
“ Web ” knew that this was something more than 


A BUSINESS CALL 


281 

an ordinary social visit. Captain Eri’s calls at the 
billiard room were few and far between. The Cap- 
tain, for his part, knew what his companion was 
thinking, and the pair watched each other through 
the smoke. 

The pipe drew well, and the Captain sent a blue 
cloud whirling toward the ceiling. Then he asked 
suddenly, “ Web, how much money has Elsie Preston 
paid you altogether? ” 

Mr. Saunders started the least bit, and his small 
eyes narrowed a trifle. But the innocent surprise in 
his reply was a treat to hear. 

“ Elsie? Paid me? " he asked. 

“ Yes. How much has she paid you ? ” 

“ I don’t know what you mean.” 

“ Yes, you do. She’s been payin’ you money 
reg’lar for more ’n a month. I want to know how 
much it is.” 

“ Now, Cap’n Hedge, I don’t know what you’re 
talkin’ about. Nobody’s paid me a cent except them 
that’s owed me. Who did you say? Elsie Preston? 
That’s the school-teacher, ain’t it ? ” 

“ Web, you’re a liar, and always was, but you 
needn’t lie to me this mornin’, ’cause it won’t be 
healthy; I don’t feel like bearin’ it. You understand 
that, do you ? ” 


282 


CAFN ERl 


Mr. Saunders thought it time to bluster a little. He 
rose to his feet threateningly. 

“ Cap’n Hedge,” he said, “ no man ’ll call me a 
liar.” 

“ There’s a precious few that calls you anything 
else.” 

“ You’re an old man, or I’d ” 

“ Never you mind how old I am. A minute ago 
you said I didn’t look more ’n forty; maybe I don’t 
feel any older, either.” 

“ If that Preston girl has told you any ” 

“ She hasn’t told me anything. She doesn’t know 
that I know anything. But I do know. I was in 
the entry upstairs at the schoolhouse for about ten 
minutes last night.” 

Mr. Saunders’ start was perceptible this time. He 
stood for a moment without speaking. Then he 
jerked the chair around, threw himself into it, and 
said cautiously, “Well, what of it?” 

“ I come up from the house to git Elsie home 
’cause ’twas rainin’. I was told you was with her, 
and I thought there was somethin’ crooked goin’ on ; 
fact is, I had a suspicion what ’twas. So when I 
got up to the door I didn’t go in right away; I jest 
stood outside.” 

“ Listenin’, hey ! Spyin’ ! ” 


A BUSINESS CALL 


283 


“ Yup. I don’t think much of folks that listens, 
gin’rally speakin’, but there’s times when I b’lieve 
in It. When I’m foolin’ with a snake I’d jest as 
soon hit him from behind as in front. I didn’t hear 
much, but I heard enough to let me know that you’d 
been takin’ money from that girl right along. And 
I think I know why.” 

“ You do, hey? ” 

“ Yup.” 

Then Mr. Saunders asked the question that a 
bigger rascal than he had asked some years before. 
He leaned back In his chair, took a pull at his cigar, 
and said sneeringly, “ Well, what are you goin’ to 
do ’bout it ? ” 

“ I’m goin’ to stop It, and I’m goin’ to make you 
give the money back. How much has she paid 
you?” 

“ None of your d — n bus'ness." 

The Captain rose to his feet. Mr. Saunders 
sprang up, also, and reached for the coal shovel, 
evidently expecting trouble. But if he feared a 
physical assault, his fear was groundless. Captain 
Eri merely took up his coat. 

“ Maybe it ain’t none of my bus’ness,” he said. 
“ I ain’t a s’lectman nor sheriff. But there’s such 
things in town, and p’raps they’ll be int’rested. 


284 


CAFN ERI 


Seems to me that I’ve heard that blackmailin’ has 
got folks into State’s prison afore now.” 

“ Is that so? Never heard that folks that set fire 
to other people’s prop’ty got there, did you? Yes, 
and folks that helps ’em gits there, too, sometimes. 
Who was it hid a coat a spell ago ? ” 

It was Captain Eri’s turn to start. He hesitated 
a moment, tossed the pea jacket back on the settee 
and sat down once more. Mr. Saunders watched 
him, grinning triumphantly. 

“Well?” he said with a sneer. 

“ A coat, you say ? ” 

“ Yes, a coat. Maybe you know who hid it; I 
can guess, myself. That coat was burned some. 
How do you s’pose it got burned? And say! who 
used to wear a big white hat round these diggin’s? 
Ah, ha! Who did?” 

There was no doubt about the Captain’s start this 
time. He wheeled sharply in his chair, and looked 
at the speaker. 

“ Humph ! ” he exclaimed, “ You found that hat, 
did you ? ” 

“That’s what I done! And where do you think 
I found it? Why, right at the back of my shed 
where the fire started. And there’d been a pile of 
sEwn’s there, too, and there’d been kerosene on 


A BUSINESS CALL 


28s 


’em. Who smashed the bottle over in the field, 
hey? ” 

Captain Eri seemed to be thinking. “ Web ” 
evidently set his own interpretation on this 
silence, for he went on, raising his voice as he 
did so. 

“ Did you think I was fool enough not to know 
who set that fire? I knew the night she burned, 
and when I met Dr. Palmer jest cornin’ from your 
house, and he told me how old Baxter was took sick 
goin’ to the fire — oh, yes, goin * — I went up on that 
hill right off, and I hunted and I found things, and 
what I found I kept. And what I found when I 
pulled that burned shed to pieces I kept, too. And 
I’ve got ’em yit ! ” 

“You have, hey? Dear! dear!” 

“You bet I have ! And somebody’s goin’ to 
pay for ’em. Coin’ to pay, pay, pay! Is that 
plain?” 

The Captain made no answer. He thrust 
his hands into his pockets and looked at the 
stove dolefully, so it seemed to the man of 
business. 

“ Fust off I thought I’d have the old cuss jailed,” 
continued Mr. Saunders. “ Then, thinks I, ‘ No, that 
won’t pay me for my buildin’ and my bus’ness hurt 


286 


CAFN ERI 


and all that.’ So I waited for Baxter to git well, 
meaniri’ to make him pay or go to the jug. But he 
stayed sick a-purpose, I b’lieve, the mean, white- 

headed, psalm-singin’ ” 

Captain Eri moved uneasily and broke in, “You 
got your insurance money, didn’t you?” 

“Yes, I did, but whose fault is that? ’Twa’n’t 
his, nor any other darned ‘ Come-Outer’s.’ It don’t 
pay me for my trouble, nor it don’t make me square 
with the gang. I gen’rally git even sometime or 
’nother, and I’ll git square now. When that girl 
come here, swellin’ ’round and puttin’ on airs, I see 
my chance, and told her to pay up or her granddad 
would be shoved into Ostable jail. That give her 
the jumps, I tell you ! ” 

“You wrote her a letter, didn’t you?” 

“ You bet I did! She come ’round to see me in a 
hurry. Said she didn’t have no money. I told her 
her granddad did, an she could git that or go to 
work and earn some. I guess she thought she’d 
ruther work. Oh, I’ve got her and her prayin’, 
house-burnin’ granddad where I want ’em, and I’ve 
got you, too, Eri Hedge, stickin’ your oar in. Talk 
to me ’bout blackmail 1 For two cents I’d jail the 
old man and you, too ! ” 

This was the real Mr. Saunders. He usually kept 


A BUSINESS CALL 


287 


this side of his nature for home use; his wife was 
well acquainted with it. 

Captain Eri was evidently frightened. His man- 
ner had become almost apologetic. 

“ Well,” he said, “ I wouldn’t do that if I was 
you, Web. I heard you tell Elsie last night she 
wa’n’t payin’ you enough, and I thought ” 

“ I know what you thought. You thought you 
could scare me. You didn’t know I had the coat 
and hat, did you? Well, what I said I stand by. 
The girl ain^ t payin’ me enough. Fourteen dollars 
a week she gits, and she’s only been givin’ up ten. 
I want more. I want ” 

But here Captain Eri interrupted him. 

“ I guess that ’ll do,” he said calmly. “ You’ve 
told me what I wanted to know. Ten dollars a 
week sence the middle of November. ’Bout seventy 
dollars, rough figgerin’. Now, then, hand it over.” 
“What?” 

“ Hand over that seventy dollars.” 

“ Hand over hell ! What are you talkin’ ’bout ? ” 

The Captain rose and, leaning over, shook his 
forefinger in Mr. Saunders’ flabby red face. 

“ You low-lived, thievin’ rascal,” he said, “ I’m 
givin’ you a cha^\ce you don’t deserve. Either you’ll 
pay me that moi^ r you’ve stole from that girl or 


288 


CAFN ERl 


I’ll walk out of that door, and when I come in again 
the sheriff ’ll be with me. Now, which ’ll it be? 
Think quick.” 

Web’s triumphant expression was gone, and rage 
and malice had taken its place. He saw, now, that 
the Captain had tricked him into telling more than 
he ought. But he burst out again, tripping over 
words in his excitement. 

“Think!” he yelled. “I don’t need to think. 
Bring in your sheriff. I’ll march down to your house 
and I’ll show him the man that set fire to my buildin’. 
What ’ll you and that snivelin’ granddaughter of 
his do then? You make off to think a turrible lot 
of the old prayer-machine ’cause he’s your chum. 
How’d you like to see him took up for a firebug, 
hey?” 

“ I ain’t afraid of that.” 

“You ain’t? Yom ain’t! Why not?” 

“ ’Cause he’s gone where you can’t git at him. He 
died jest afore I left the house.” 

Mr. Saunders’ brandished fist fell heavily on the 
arm of his chair. His face turned white in patches, 
and then flamed red again. 

“ Died I ” he gasped. 

“Died.” 

“ You — ^you’re a liar 1 ” 


A BUSINESS CALL 


289 


“ No, I ain’t. John Baxter’s dead. He was a 
chum of mine — you’re right there — and if I’d known 
a sneak like you was after him I’d have been here 
long afore this. Why, you ” 

The Captain’s voice shook, but he restrained him- 
self and went on. 

“ Now, you see where you stand, don’t you ? 
Long’s John lived you had the proof to convict him ; 
I’ll own up to that much. I hid the coat; I smashed 
the bottle. The hat I didn’t know ’bout. I might 
have told you at fust that all that didn’t amount to 
anything, but I thought I’d wait and let you tell me 
what more I wanted to know. John Baxter’s gone, 
poor feller, and all your proof ain’t worth a cent. 
Not one red cent. Understand? ” 

It was quite evident that Mr. Saunders did under- 
stand, for his countenance showed it. But the bluster 
was not out of him yet. 

“ All right,” he said. “ Anyhow, the girl’s left, 
and if she don’t pay I’ll show her granddad up for 
what he was. And I’ll show you up, too. Yes, I 
will ! ” he shouted, as this possibility began to dawn 
on him. “ I’ll let folks know how you hid that coat 
and — and all the rest of it.” 

“ No, you won’t.” 

“ Why won’t I? ” 


290 


CAFN ERI 


“ ’Cause you won’t dare to. You’ve been hittin’ 
at a sick man through a girl; neither of ’em could 
hit back. But now you’re doin’ bus’ness with me, 
and I ain’t sick. If you open your mouth to anybody, 
— if you let a soul know who set that fire, — I’ll walk 
straight to Jedge Baker, and I’ll tell him the whole 
story. I’ll tell him what I did and why I did it. 
And then I’ll tell him what you did — ^how you bullied 
money out of that girl that hadn’t no more to do 
with the fire than a baby. If it comes to facin’ a 
jury I’ll take my chances, but how ’bout you? You, 
runnin’ a town nuisance that the s’lectmen are talkin’ 
of stoppin’ already; sellin’ rum by the drink when 
your license says it shan’t be sold ’cept by the bottle. 
Where’ll your character land you on a charge of 
blackmail ? 

“ And another thing. The folks in this town knew 
John Baxter afore he was like what he’s been lately. 
A good many of ’em swore by him — ^yes, sir, by 
mighty, some of ’em loved him! This is a law- 
abidin’ town, but s’pose — jest s’pose I should go to 
some of the fellers that used to sail with him, and 
tell ’em what you’ve been up to. Think you’d stay 
here long? I think you’d move out — on a rail.” 

Captain Eri paused and sat on the arm of his chair, 
grimly watching his opponent, whose turn for think- 


A BUSINESS CALL 


291 


ing had come. The face of the billiard magnate 
was an interesting study in expression during the 
Captain’s speech. From excited triumph it had 
fallen to fear and dejection; and now, out of the 
wreck, was appearing once more the oily smile, the 
sugared sweetness of the every-day Mr. Saunders. 

“ Now, Cap’n Hedge,” purred the reconstructed 
one, “ you and me has always been good friends. 
We hadn’t ought to fight like this. I don’t think 
either of us wants to go to court. Let’s see if we 
can’t fix the thing up some way.” 

“ We’ll fix it up when you pay me the seventy 
dollars.” 

“ Now, Cap’n Hedge, ’tain’t likely I’ve got 
seventy dollars in my pocket. Seems to me you’re 
pretty hard on a poor feller that’s jest been burnt 
out. I think we’d ought to ” 

“ How much have you got? ” 

After a good deal of talk and protestation Mr. 
Saunders acknowledged being the possessor of twenty- 
six dollars, divided between the cash drawer and his 
pocket. This he reluctantly handed to the Cap- 
tain. 

Then the Captain demanded pen, ink, and paper; 
and when they were brought he laboriously wrote 
out a screed to the effect that Webster Saunders had 


2g2 


CAP’N ERl 


received of Elsie Preston forty-four dollars, which 
sum he promised to pay on demand. 

“ There,” he said, pushing the writing materials 
across the table. “ Sign that.” 

At first Mr. Saunders positively refused to sign. 
Then he intimated that he had rather wait and think 
it over a little while. Finally he affixed his signature 
and spitefully threw the pen across the room. 

Captain Eri folded up the paper and put it in his 
pocket. Then he rose and put on his pea jacket. 

“ Now, there’s jest one thing more,” he said. 
“ Trot out that coat and hat.” 

“ What do you mean? ” 

“ Trot out that coat and hat of John’s. I want 
’em.” 

“ I shan’t do it.” 

“ All right, then. It’s all off. I’ll step over and 
see the Jedge. You’ll hear from him and me later.” 

“ Hold on a minute, Cap’n. You’re in such a ever- 
lastin’ hurry. I don’t care anything ’bout the old 
duds, but I don’t know’s I know where they are. 
Seems to me they’re up to the house somewheres. 
I’ll give ’em to you to-morrer.” 

“ You’ll give ’em to me right now. I’ll tend shop 
while you go after ’em.” 

For a moment it looked as though the. man of 


A BUSINESS CALL 


293 


business would rebel outright. But the Captain was 
so calm, and evidently so determined to do exactly 
what he promised, that “ Web ” gave up in despair. 
Muttering that maybe they were “ ’round the place, 
after all,” he went into the back room and re- 
appeared with the burned coat and the scorched 
white felt hat. Slamming them down on the counter, 
he said sulkily, “ There they be. Any more of my 
prop’ty you’d like to have ? ” 

Captain Eri didn’t answer. Coolly tearing off 
several sheets of wrapping paper from the roll at 
the back of the counter, he made a bundle of the hat 
and coat, and tucked it under his arm. Then he 
put on his own hat and started for the door. 

“ Good-mornin’,” he said. 

The temper of the exasperated Mr. Saunders 
flared up in a final outburst. 

“You think you’re almighty smart, don’t you?” 
he growled between his teeth. “ I’ll square up with 
you by and by.” 

The Captain turned sharply, his hand on the 
latch. 

“ I wish you’d try,” he said. “ I jest wish to God 
you’d try. I’ve held in more ’n I thought I could 
when I come up here, but if you want to start a 
reel fust-class rumpus, one that ’ll land you where 


294 


CAFN ERI 


you b’long and rid this town of you for keeps, jest 
try some of your tricks on me. And if I hear of 
one word that you’ve said ’bout this whole bus’ness, 
I’ll know it’s time to start in. Now, you can keep 
still or fight, jest as you please. I tell you honest, 
I ’most wish you’d fight.” 

The door slammed. Mr. Saunders opened it again 
and gazed vindictively after the bulky figure splash- 
ing through the slush. The dog came sneaking up 
and rubbed his nose against his master’s hand; it 
was an impolitic move on his part. 

“Git outl” roared “Web,” delighted at the 
opportunity. “ You good-for-nothin’ pup ! How’s 
that set?” 

“ That ” was a kick that doubled the cur up 
against the settee. As it scrambled to its feet, Mr. 
Saunders kicked it again. And then the “ watch- 
dog ” exhibited the first evidence of spirit that it had 
ever been known to show. With a snarl, as the man 
turned away, it settled its teeth into the calf of his 
leg, and then shot out of the door and, with its tail 
between its legs, went down the road like a yellow 
cannon ball. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 


# 


was true — John Baxter was dead. 
^ -r ^ His violent outbreak of the previous 

^ I e afternoon had hastened the end that 

the doctor had prophesied. There 
was no harrowing death scene. The 
weather-beaten old face grew calmer, and the sleep 
sounder, until the tide went out — that was all. It 
was like a peaceful coming into port after a rough 
voyage. No one of the watchers about the bed could 
wish him back, not even Elsie, who was calm and 
brave through it all. When it was over, she went 
to her room and Mrs. Snow went with her. Captain 
Eri went out to make his call upon Mr. Saunders. 

The funeral was one of the largest ever held in Or- 
ham. The little house was crowded. Old friends, 
who had drifted away from the fanatic in his latter 
days, came back to pay tribute to the strong man 
whom they had known and loved. There was some 


296 


CAFN ERI 


discussion among the captains as to who should preach 
the funeral sermon. Elsie had left this question to 
Captain Eri for settlement, and the trio and Mrs. 
Snow went into executive session immediately. 

“ If John had had the settlin’ of it himself,” oh" 
served Eri, “ he’d have picked Perley, there ain’t 
no doubt ’bout that.” 

“ I know it,” said Captain Perez, “ but you must 
remember that John wa’n’t himself for years, and 
what he’d have done now ain’t what he’d have done 
’fore he broke down. I hate to think of Perley’s 
doin’ it, somehow.” 

“ Isn’t Mr. Perley a good man? ” asked the house- 
keeper. 

“ He’s good enough, fur’s I know,” replied Cap- 
tain Jerry, “ but I know what Perez means. A 
funeral, seems to me, ought to be a quiet, soothin’ sort 
of a thing, and there ain’t nothin’ soothin’ ’bout 
‘ Come-Outer ’ preachin’. He’ll beller and rave 
’round. Pm ’fraid, and stir up poor Elsie so she won’t 
never git over it.” 

“ I know it,” agreed Captain Eri. “ That’s what 
I’ve been afraid of. And yit,” he added, “ I should 
feel we was doin’ somethin’ jest opposite from what 
John would like, if Ave had anybody else.” 

“ Couldn’t you see Mr. Perley beforehand,” sug- 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 297 


gested Mrs. Snow, “ and tell him jest the kind of 
sermon he must preach. Tell him it must be quiet 
and comfortin’ and ” 

“ And short.” Captain Eri finished the sentence 
for her. “ I guess that’s the way we’ll have to settle 
it. I’ll make him understand one thing, though — 
he mustn’t drag in rum sellin’ and all the rest of it 
by the heels. If he does I’ll — I don’t know what 
I’ll do to him.” 

The interview with the Reverend Perley that fol- 
lowed this conversation must have been effective, for 
the sermon was surprisingly brief and as surprisingly 
calm. In fact, so rational was it that a few of the 
more extreme among the preacher’s following were 
a bit disappointed and inquired anxiously as to their 
leader’s health, after the ceremony was over. 

The procession of carryalls and buggies followed 
the hearse to the cemetery among the pines, and, as 
the mourners stood about the grave, the winter wind 
sang through the evergreen branches a song so like 
the roar of the surf that it seemed like a dirge of 
the sea for the mariner who would sail no more. As 
they were clearing away the supper dishes that night 
Captain Eri said to Mrs. Snow, “ Well, John’s gone. 
I wonder if he’s happier now than he has been for 
the last ten years or so.” 


298 


CAFN ERI 


“ I think he is,” was the answer. 

“ Well, so do I, but if he hadn’t been a ‘ Come* 
Outer ’ I don’t s’pose Brother Perley and his crowd 
would have figgered that he had much show. Seems 
sometimes as if folks like that — reel good-hearted 
folks, too, that wouldn’t hurt a fly — git solid com- 
fort out of the feelin’ that everybody that don’t 
agree with ’em is bound to everlastin’ torment. I 
don’t know but it’s wicked to say it, but honest, it 
seems as if them kind would ’bout as soon give up 
the hopes of Heaven for themselves as they would 
the satisfaction of knowin’ ’twas t’other place for 
the other feller.” 

To which remark the somev/hat shocked house- 
keeper made no reply. 

The following day Elsie went back to her school. 
Captain Eri walked up with her, and, on the way, 
told her of his discovery of her secret, and of his in- 
terview with “ Web ” Saunders. It was exactly as 
the Captain had surmised. The note she had re- 
ceived on the evening of the return from the life- 
saving station was from the proprietor of the billiard 
saloon, and in it he hinted at some dire calamity that 
overshadowed her grandfather, and demanded an 
immediate interview. She had seen him that night 
and, under threat of instant exposure, had promised 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 299 


to pay the sum required for silence. She had 
not wished to use her grandfather’s money for 
this purpose, and so had taken the position as 
teacher. 

“ Well,” said the Captain, “ I wish you’d have 
come to me right away, and told me the whole 
bus’ness. ’Twould have saved a pile of trouble.” 

The young lady stopped short and faced him. 

“ Captain Eri,” she said, “how could I? I was 
sure grandfather had set the fire. I knew how ill he 
was, and I knew that any shock might kill him. Be- 
sides, how could I drag you into it, when you had 
done so much already? It would have been dread- 
ful. No, I thought it all out, and decided I must 
face it alone.” 

“Well, I tell you this, Elsie; pretty gin’ rally a 
mean dog ’ll bite if he sees you’re afraid of him. 
The only way to handle that kind is to run straight 
at him and kick the meanness out of him. The more 
he barks the harder you ought to kick. If you run 
away once it ’ll be mighty uncomf’table every time 
you go past that house. But never mind; I cal’late 
this p’tic’lar pup won’t bite; I’ve pulled his teeth, I 
guess. What’s your plans, now? Coin’ to keep 
on with the school, or go back to Boston? ” 

Miss Preston didn’t know ; she said she had not yet 


300 


CAFN ERI 


decided, and, as the schoolhouse was reached by this 
time, the Captain said no more. 

There was, however, another question that 
troubled him, and that seemed to call for almost im- 
mediate settlement. It was: What should be done 
with Mrs. Snow? The housekeeper had been hired 
to act as such while John Baxter was in the house. 
Now he was gone, and there remained the original 
marriage agreement between Captain Jerry and the 
widow, and honor called for a decision one way or 
the other. Mrs. Snow, of course, said nothing about 
it, neither did Captain Jerry, and Captain Eri felt 
that he must take the initiative as usual. But, some- 
how, he was not as prompt as was his wont, and sat 
evening after evening, whittling at the clipper and 
smoking thoughtfully. And another week went by. 

Captain Perez might, and probably would, have 
suggested action upon this important matter, had 
not his mind been taken up with what, to him, was 
the most important of all. He had made up his 
mind to ask Patience Davis to marry him. 

Lx>ve is like the measles; it goes hard with a man 
past fifty, and Captain Perez was severely smitten. 
The decision just mentioned was not exactly a brand- 
new one, his mind had been made up for some time, 
but he lacked the courage to ask the momentous ques- 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER zoi 


tion. Something the lady had said during the first 
stages of their acquaintance made a great impression 
on the Captain. She gave it as her opinion that a 
man who loved a woman should be willing to go 
through fire and water to win her. Captain Perez 
went home that night pondering deeply. 

“ Fire and water! ” he mused. “That’s a turri- 
ble test. But she’s a wonderful woman, and would 
expect it of a feller. I wonder if I could do it; 
seems ’s if I would now, but flesh is weak, and I 
might flunk, and that would settle it. Fire and 
water I My ! my ! that’s awful ! ’’ 

So the Captain delayed and Miss Patience, who 
had cherished hopes, found need of a good share 
of the virtue for which she was named. 

But one afternoon at the end of the week follow- 
ing that of the funeral, Perez set out for a call upon 
his intended which he meant should be a decisive one. 
He had screwed his courage up to the top notch, and 
as he told Captain Eri afterwards, he meant to “ hail 
her and git his bearin’s, if he foundered the next 
minute.’’ 

He found the lady alone, for old Mrs. Mayo had 
gone with her son, whose name was Abner, to visit 
a cousin in Harniss, and would not be back until late 
in the evening. Miss Patience was very glad to have 


302 


CAFN ERl 


company, and it required no great amount of urging 
to persuade the infatuated swain to stay to tea. 
When the meal was over — they washed the dishes 
together, and the Captain was so nervous that it is a 
wonder there was a whole plate left — ^the pair were 
seated in the parlor. Then said Captain Perez, turn- 
ing red and hesitating, “ Pashy, do you know what a 
feller told me ’bout you ? ” 

Now, this remark was purely a pleasant fiction, for 
the Captain was about to undertake a compliment, 
and was rather afraid to shoulder the entire respon- 
sibility. 

“ No, Pm sure I don’t, Perez,” replied Miss 
Davis, smiling sweetly. 

“ Well, a feller told me you was the best house- 
keeper in Orham. He said that the man that got 
you would be lucky.” 

This was encouraging. Miss Patience colored and 
simpered a little. 

“ Land sake ! ” she exclaimed. “ Whoever told 
you such rubbish as that? Besides,” with downcast 
eyes, “ I guess no man would ever want me.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know.” The Captain moved un- 
easily in his chair, as if he contemplated hitching it 
nearer to that occupied by his companion. “ I guess 
there’s plenty would be mighty glad to git you. Any- 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 303 


how, there’s — there’s one that — that — I cal’late the 
fog’s thick as ever, don’t you ? ” 

But Miss Patience didn’t mean to give up in this 
way. 

“ What was it you was goin’ to say? ” she asked, 
by way of giving the bashful one another chance. 

“ I was goin’ to say, Pashy, that — that — I asked 
if you thought the fog was as thick as ever.” 

“ Oh, dear me! Yes, I s’pose likely ’tis,” was the 
discouraged answer. 

“ Seems to me I never see such weather for this 
time of year. The ice is all out of the bay, and there 
ain’t a bit of wind, and it’s warm as summer, pretty 
nigh. Kind of a storm-breeder. Pm afraid.” 

“ Well, Pm glad you’re here to keep me comp’ny. 
I’ve never been sole alone in this house afore, and 1 
should be dreadful lonesome if you hadn’t come.” 
This was offered as a fresh bait. 

“ Pashy, I’ve got somethin’ I wanted to ask you. 
Do you think you could — er — er ” 

“ What, Perez? ” 

“ I wanted to ask you ” — the Captain swallowed 
several times — “ to ask you — ^What in the nation is 
that?” 

“ Oh, that’s nothin’ : only the hens squawkin’. Go 
on!” 


304 


CAFN ERI 


“ Yes, but hens don’t squawk this time of night 
’thout they have some reason to. It’s that fox come 
back; that’s what ’tis.” 

Miss Patience, earlier in the evening, had related a 
harrowing tale of the loss of two of Mrs. Mayo’s 
best Leghorns that had gone to furnish a Sunday 
meal for a marauding fox. As the said Leghorns 
were the pride of the old lady’s heart, even the 
impending proposal was driven from Miss Davis’ 
mind. 

Oh, Perez ! you don’t s’pose ’tis the fox, do 
you?” 

“ Yes, ma^ am, I do! Where’s the gun? ” 

“ There ’tis, behind the door, but there ain’t a mite 
of shot in the house. Abner’s been goin’ to fetch 
some from the store for I don’t know how long, but 
he’s always forgot it.” 

“ Never mind. I’ll pound the critter with the butt. 
Come quick, and bring a lamp.” 

The noise in the henyard continued, and when they 
opened the door it was louder than ever. 

“ He’s in the henhouse,” whispered Miss Patience. 
“ He must have gone in that hole at the side that had 
the loose board over it.” 

“ All right,” murmured the Captain. “ You go 
’round with the lamp and open the door. That ’ll 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 305 


scare him, and I’ll stand at the hole and thump him 
when he comes out.” 

So, shielding the lamp with her apron, the guard- 
ian of Mrs. Mayo’s outraged Leghorns tiptoed 
around to the henhouse door, while Captain Perez, 
brandishing the gun like a club, took up his stand 
by the hole at the side. 

Without the lamp the darkness was pitchy. The 
Captain, stooping down to watch, saw something 
coming out of the hole — something that was alive 
and moved. He swung the gun above his head, and, 
bringing it down with all his might, knocked into 
eternal oblivion the little life remaining in the finest 
Leghorn rooster. 

“ Consarn it!” yelled the executioner, stooping 
and laying his hand on the victim, ” I’ve killed a 
hen!” 

Just then there came a scream from the other side 
of the henhouse, followed by a crash and the sound 
of a fall. Running around the corner the alarmed 
Perez saw his lady-love stretched upon the ground, 
groaning dismally. 

“ Great land of Goshen ! ” he cried. “ Pashy, 
are you hurt ? ” 

“ Oh, Perez ! ” gasped the fallen one. “ Oh, 
Perez!” 


3o6 


CAFN ERI 


This pitiful appeal had such an effect upon the 
Captain that he dropped upon his knees and, raising 
Miss Davis’ head in his hands, begged her to say 
she wasn’t killed. After some little time she oblig- 
ingly complied, and then, having regained her breath, 
explained the situation. 

What had happened was this: The fox, having 
selected his victim the rooster, had rendered it help- 
less, and was pushing it out of the hole ahead of him. 
The Captain had struck the rooster just as Miss Pa- 
tience opened the door, and the fox, seizing this 
chance of escape, had dodged by the lady, upsetting 
her as he went. 

“ Well,” she said, laughing, “ there’s no great 
harm done. I’m sorry for the rooster, but I guess the 
fox had fixed him anyway. Oh, my soul and body ! 
look there ! ” 

Perez turned, looked as directed, and saw the hen- 
house in flames. 

The lighted lamp, which Miss Patience had 
dropped as she fell, lay broken on the floor, and the 
blazing oil had run in every direction. The flames 
were making such headway that they both saw there 
was practically no chance of saving the building. 
The frightened hens were huddled in the furthest 
corner, gazing stupidly at the fire. 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 307 


“Oh, those poor Leghorns!” wailed Miss Pa- 
tience. “ Those hens Mrs. Mayo thought the world 
of, and left me to look out for. Last thing she asked 
me was to be sure they was fed. And now they’ll be 
all burned up ! What shall I do? ” 

Here the lady began to cry. 

“ Pashy ! ” roared the Captain, whom the sight of 
his charmer’s tears had driven almost wild, “ don’t 
say another word. Pll save them hens or git 
cooked along with ’em ! ” 

And turning up his coat collar, as though he was 
going into a refrigerator instead of a burning build- 
ing, Captain Perez sprang through the door. 

Miss Davis screamed wildly to him to come back, 
and danced about, wringing her hands. The interior 
of the henhouse was now a mass of black smoke, 
from which the voices of the Captain and the Leg- 
horns floated in a discordant medley, something like 
this: 

“ Hold still, you lunatics 1 ( “ Squawk 1 squawk 1 ” ) 
Druther be roasted than have me catch you, hadn’t 
you ? ( “ Squawk 1 squawk 1 ” ) A — kershew ! Land ! 
Pm smothered ! Now Pve got you ! Thunderation ! 
Hold still! HOLD STILL, I tell you ! ” 

Just as the agonized Miss Patience was on the 
point of fainting, the little window at the back of the 


3o8 


CAFN ERI 


shanty was thrown open and two hens, like feathered 
comets, shot through it. Then the red face of the 
Captain appeared for an instant as he caught his 
breath with a “ Woosh I ” and dived back again. 
This performance was repeated six times, the Cap- 
tain’s language and the compliments he paid the hens 
becoming more picturesque every moment. 

At length he announced, “ That’s all, thank good- 
ness ! ” and began to climb through the window. 
This was a difficult task, for the window was narrow 
and, in spite of what Captain Eri had called his 
“ ingy-rubber ” make up. Captain Perez stuck fast. 

“ Catch hold of my hands and haul, will you, 
Pashy?” he pleaded. “That’s it; pull hard! It’s 
gittin’ sort of muggy in behind here. I’ll never com- 
plain at havin’ cold feet ag’in if I git out of this. 
Now, then ! Ugh ! Here we be 1 ” 

He came out with a jerk, like a cork out of a bottle, 
and rolled on the ground at his lady’s feet. 

“ Oh, Perez ! ” she exclaimed, “ are you hurt? ” 

“ Nothin’ but my feelin’s,” growled the rescuer, 
scrambling upright. “ I read a book once by a feller 
named Joshua Billin’s, or somethin’ like it. He was a 
ignorant chap — couldn’t spell two words right — but 
he bad consider’ble sense. He said a hen was a darn 
fool, and he was right ; she’s all that.” 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 309 


The Captain’s face was blackened, and his clothes 
were scorched, but his spirit was undaunted. 

“ Pashy,” he said, “ do you realize that if we don’t 
git help, this whole shebang, house and all, will burn 
down ? ” 

“ Perez, you don’t mean it! ” 

“ I wouldn’t swear that I didn’t. Look how that 
thing’s blazin’ 1 There’s the barn t’other side of it, 
and the house t’other side of that.” 

“ But can’t you and me put it out? ” 

“ I don’t dare resk it. No, sir! We’ve got to git 
help, and git it in a hurry, too ! ” 

“ Won’t somebody from the station see the light 
and come over? ” 

“ Not in this fog. You can’t see a hundred foot. 
No, Fve got to go right off. Good land! I never 
thought ! Is the horse gone ? ” 

“ No ; the horse is here. Abner took one of the 
store horses to go to Harniss with. But he did take 
the buggy, and there’s no other carriage but the old 
carryall, and that’s almost tumblin’ to pieces.” 

“ I was cal’latin’ to go horseback.” 

“ What ! and leave me here alone with the house 
afire? No, indeed ! If you go, I’m goin’, too.” 

“ Well, then, the carryll’s got to do, whether or no. 
Git on a shawl or somethin’, while I harness up.” 


310 


CAFN ERI 


It was a frantic harnessing, but it was done in a 
hurry, and the ramshackle old carryall, dusty and 
cobwebbed, was dragged out of the barn, and Horace 
Greeley, the horse, was backed into the shafts. As 
they drove out of the yard the flames were roaring 
through the roof of the henhouse, and the lath fence 
surrounding it was beginning to blaze. 

“ Everything’s so wet from the fog and the 
melted snow,” observed the Captain, “ that it ’ll take 
some time for the fire to git to the barn. If we can 
git a gang here we can save the house easy, and maybe 
more. By mighty ! ” he ejaculated, “ I tell you what 
we’ll do. I’ll drive across the ford and git Luther 
and some of the station men to come right across. 
Then I’ll go on to the village to fetch more. It was 
seven when I looked at the clock as we come in from 
washin’ dishes, so the tide must be still goin’ out, and 
the ford jest right. Git dap ! ” 

“ Hurry all you can, for goodness’ sake ! Is this 
as fast as we can go? ” 

“ Fast as we can go with this everlastin’ Noah’s 
Ark. Heavens ! how them wheels squeal ! ” 

“ The axles ain’t been greased for I don’t know 
when. Abner was going to have the old carriage 
chopped up for kindlin’ wood.” 

“ Lucky for him and us ’tain’t chopped up now. 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 31 » 


Git dap, slow-poke 1 Better chop the horse up, too, 
while he’s ’bout it.” 

The last remark the Captain made under his 
breath. 

“ My gracious, how dark it is ! Think you can 
find the crossin’ ? ” 

“ Gof to find it; that’s all. ’Tis dark, that’s a 
fact.” 

It was. They had gone but a few hundred yards ; 
yet the fire was already merely a shapeless, red 
smudge on the foggy blackness behind them. Horace 
Greeley pounded along at a jog, and when the Cap- 
tain slapped him with the end of the reins, broke into 
a jerky gallop that was slower than the trot. 

“ Stop your hoppin’ up and down ! ” commanded 
Perez, whose temper was becoming somewhat frayed. 
“ You make me think of the walkin’ beam on a 
steamboat. If you’d stop tryin’ to fly and go straight 
ahead we’d do better.” 

They progressed in this fashion for some distance. 
Then Miss Davis, from the curtained depths of the 
back seat, spoke again. 

“ Oh, dear me I ” she exclaimed. “ Are you sure 
you’re on the right track? Seems ’s if we must be 
abreast the station, and this road’s awful rough.” 

Captain Perez had remarked the roughness of the 


312 


CAFN ERI 


road. The carryall was pitching from one hummock 
to another, and Horace Greeley stumbled once or 
twice. 

“ Whoa ! ” commanded the Captain. Then he got 
down, lit a match, and, shielding it with his hands, 
scrutinized the ground. “ I’m kind of ’fraid,” he 
said presently, “ that we’ve got off the road somehow. 
But we must be ’bout opposite the crossin’. I’m 
goin’ to drive down and see if I can find it.” 

He turned the horse’s head at right angles from 
the way they were going, and they pitched onward 
for another hundred yards. Then they came out 
upon the hard, smooth sand, and heard the water 
lapping on the shore. Captain Perez got out once 
more and walked along the strand, bending forward 
as he walked. Soon Miss Patience heard him calling. 

“ I’ve found it, I guess,” he said, coming back to 
the vehicle. “ Anyhow, it looks like it. We’ll be 
over in a few minutes now. Git dap, you ! ” 

Horace Greeley shivered as the cold water splashed 
his legs, but waded bravely in. They moved further 
from the shore and the water seemed to grow no 
deeper. 

“ Guess this is the crossin’ all right,” said the Cap- 
tain, who had cherished some secret doubts. “ Here’s 
the deep part cornin’. We’ll be across in a jiffy.” 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 313 


The water mounted to the hubs, then to the bot- 
tom of the carryall. Miss Davis’ feet grew damp 
and she drew them up. 

“ Oh, Perez ! ” she faltered, “ are you sure this 
is the ford?” 

“ Don’t git scared, Pashy ! I guess maybe we’ve 
got a little to one side of the track. Pll turn ’round 
and try again.” 

But Horace Greeley was of a different mind. 
From long experience he knew that the way to cross 
a ford was to go straight ahead. The bottom of 
the carryall was awash. 

“ Port your helium, you lubber ! ” shouted the 
driver, pulling with all his might on one rein. 
“ Heave to ! Come ’bout ! Gybe ! consarn you ! 
gybe!” 

Then Horace Greeley tried to obey orders, but 
it was too late. He endeavored to touch bottom 
with his forelegs, but could not; tried to swim with 
his hind ones, but found that impossible; then wal- 
lowed wildly to one side and snapped a shaft and the 
rotten whiffletree short off. The carryall tipped 
alarmingly and Miss Patience screamed. 

“ Whoa 1 ” yelled the agitated Perez. “ ’Vast 
heavin’ ! belay 1 ” 

The animal, as much frightened by his driver’s 


CAFN ERI 


3H 

shouts as by the water, shot ahead and tried to tear 
himself loose. The other sun-warped and rotten 
shaft broke. The carryall was now floating, with 
the water covering the floor. 

“ No use ; I’ll have to cut away the wreck, or we’ll 
be on our beam ends 1 ” shouted the Captain. 

He took out his jackknife, and reaching over, 
severed the traces. Horace Greeley gave another 
wallow, and finding himself free, disappeared in the 
darkness amid a lather of foam. The carriage, now 
well out in the channel, drifted with the current. 

“ Don’t cry, Pashy ! ” said the Captain, endeavor- 
ing to cheer his sobbing companion, “ we ain’t shark 
bait yit. As the song used to say: 

“ * We’re afloat, we’re afloat, 

And the rover is free.’ 

“ I’ve shipped aboard of ’most every kind of 
craft,” he added, “ but blessed if I ever expected to 
be skipper of a carryall ! ” 

But Miss Patience, shut up in the back part of 
the carriage like a water nymph in her cave, still 
wept hysterically. So Captain Perez continued his 
dismal attempt at facetiousness. 

“ The main thing,” he said, “ is to keep her on an 
even keel. If she teeters to one side, you teeter to 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 31S 


t’other. Drat that fox! ” he ejaculated. “ I thought 
when Web’s place burned we’d had fire enough to 
last for one spell, but it never rains but it pours.” 

“ Oh, dear ! ” sobbed the lady. ” Now every- 
thing ’ll burn up, and they’ll blame me for it. Well, 
I’ll be drownded anyway, so I shan’t be there to hear 
’em. Oh, dear! dear!” 

“ Oh, don’t talk that way. We’re driftin’ some- 
wheres, but we’re spinnin’ ’round so I can’t tell which 
way. Judas ! ” he exclaimed, more soberly, “ I re- 
member, now ; it ain’t but a little past seven o’clock, 
and the tide’s goin’ out.” 

“ Of course it is,” resignedly, “ and we’ll drift 
into the breakers in the bay, and that ’ll be the end.” 

“ No, no, I guess not. We ain’t dead yit. If I 
had an oar or somethin’ to steer this clipper with, 
maybe we could git into shoal water. As ’tis, we’ll 
have to manage her the way Ote Wixon used to 
manage his wife, by lettin’ her have her own way.” 

They floated in silence for a few moments. Then 
Miss Patience, who had bravely tried to stifle her 
sobs, said with chattering teeth, “ Perez, I’m pretty 
nigh froze to death.” 

It will be remembered that the Captain had spoken 
of the weather as being almost as warm as summer. 
This was a slight exaggeration. It happened, for* 


3i6 


CAFN ERl 


tunately for the castaways, that this particular night, 
coming as it did just at the end of the long thaw, was 
the mildest of the winter and there was no wind, 
but the air was chill, and the damp fog raw and 
biting. 

“ Well, now you mention it,” said Captain Perez, 
“ it is cold, ain't it? I’ve a good mind to jump over- 
board, and try to swim ashore and tow the carryall.” 

“ Don’t you do it! My land ! if you should drown 
what would become of me? ” 

It was the tone of this speech, as much as the 
words, that hit the Captain hard. He himself al« 
most sobbed as he said : 

“ Pashy, I want you to try to git over on this front 
seat with me. Then I can put my coat ’round you, 
and you won’t be so cold. Take hold of my hand.” 

Miss Patience at first protested that she never 
could do it in the world, the carriage would upset, 
and that would be the end. But her companion 
urged her to try, and at last she did so. It was a 
risky proceeding, but she reached the front seat 
somehow, and the carryall still remained right-side- 
up. Luckily, in the channel between the beaches 
there was not the slightest semblance of a wave. 

Captain Perez pulled off his coat, and wrapped it 
about his protesting companion. He was obliged 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 3^7 


to hold it in place, and he found the task rather 
pleasing. 

“ Oh, you’re so good ! ” murmured Miss Patience. 
“ What should I have done without you ? ” 

“ Hush ! Guess you’d have been better off. You’d 
never gone after that fox if it hadn’t been for me, 
and there wouldn’t have been none of this fuss.” 

“Oh, don’t say that! You’ve been so brave. 
Anyhow, we’ll die together, that’s a comfort.” 

“ PasHy,” said Captain Perez solemnly, “ it’s 
mighty good to hear you say that.” 

It is, perhaps, needless to explain that the “ dying ” 
portion of the lady’s speech was not that referred to 
by the Captain ; the word “ together ” was what ap- 
pealed to him. Miss Patience apparently understood. 

“ Is it? ” she said softly. 

“ Yes — ^yes, ’tis.” The arm holding the coat about 
the lady’s shoulder tightened just a little. The Cap- 
tain had often dreamed of something like this, but 
never with quite these surroundings. However, he 
was rapidly becoming oblivious to such trivial details 
as surroundings. 

“ Pashy,” he said huskily, “ I’ve been thinkin’ of 
you consider’ble lately. Fact is, I — I — well, I come 
down to-day a-purpose to ask you somethin’. I know 
it’s a queer place to ask it, and — and I s’pose it’s kind 


CAFN ERI 


of sudden, but — will — ^will you Breakers! by 

mighty! ” 

The carryall had suddenly begun to rock, and there 
were streaks of foam about it. Now, it gave a 
most alarming heave, grounded, swung clear, and 
tipped yet more. 

“ We’re capsizin’,” yelled Perez. “ Hang on to 
me, Pashy ! ” 

But Miss Patience didn’t intend to let this, per- 
haps the final opportunity, slip. As she told her 
brother afterward, she would have made him say it 
then if they had been “ two fathom under water.** 

“Will I what, Perez?” she demanded. 

The carryall rose on two wheels and begun to turn 
over, but the Captain did not notice it. The arms 
of his heart’s desire were about his neck, and he was 
looking into her eyes. 

“ Will you marry me? ” he gasped. 

“ Yes,” answered Miss Patience, and they went 
under together. 

The Captain staggered to his feet, and dragged 
his chosen bride to hers. The ice-cold water reached 
their shoulders. And, like a flash, as they stood there, 
came a torrent of rain and a wind that drove the fog 
before it like smoke. Captain Perez saw the shore, 
with its silhouetted bushes, only a few yards away. 


THROUGH FIRE AND WATER 319 


Beyond that, in the blackness, was a light, a flickering 
blaze, that rose and fell and rose and fell again. 

The Captain dragged Miss Patience to the beach. 

“ Run ! ” he chattered, “ run, or we’ll turn into 
icicles. Come on ! ” 

With his arm about her waist Perez guided his 
dripping companion, as fast as they could run, toward 
the light. And as they came nearer to it they saw 
that it flickered about the blackened ruins of a hen- 
house and a lath fence. 

It was Mrs. Mayo’s henhouse, and Mrs. Mayo’s 
fence. Their adventurous journey had ended where 
it began. 

“ You see, Eri,” said Captain Perez, as he told 
his friend the story that night, “ that clock in the 
dining room that I looked at hadn’t been goin’ for 
a week; the mainspring was broke. ’Twa’n’t seven 
o’clock, ’twas nearer nine when the fire started, and 
the tide wa’n’t goin’ out, ’twas cornin’ in. I drove 
into the water too soon, missed the crossin’, and we 
jest drifted back home ag’in. The horse had more 
sense than I did. We found him in the barn waitin^ 
for us.” 

Abner Mayo had piled against the back of h\s 
barn a great heap of damp seaweed that he intended 
using in the spring as a fertilizer. The fire had 


320 


CAP’N ERI 


burned until it reached this seaweed and then had 
gone no further. The rain extinguished the last 
spark. 

“ Well, by mighty! ” exclaimed Captain Perez for 
at least the tenth time, as he sat in the kitchen, 
wrapped in an old ulster of Mr. Mayo’s, and toast- 
ing his feet in the oven, “ if I don’t feel like a fool. 
All that scare and wet for nothin’.” 

“ Oh, not for nothin’, Perez,” said Miss Patience, 
looking tenderly down into his face. 

“ Well, no, not for nothin’ by a good deal! Pve 
got you by it, and that’s everything. But say, 
Pashy! ” and the Captain looked awed by the coinci- 
dence, “ I went through fire and water to git you ! ” 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 

^^##^APTAIN PEREZ made a clean breast 

# ^ # of it to Captain Eri when he reached 

# I ■ # home that night. It was after twelve 

o’clock, but he routed his friend out 
^###^ of bed to tell him the news and the 
story. Captain Eri was not as surprised to hear of 
the engagement as he pretended to be, for he had 
long ago made up his mind that Perez meant business 
this time. But the tale of the fire and the voyage 
in the carryall tickled him immensely, and he rolled 
back and forth in the rocker and laughed until his 
side ached. 

“ I s’pose it does sound kind of ridic’lous,” said the 
accepted suitor in a rather aggrieved tone, “ but it 
wa’n’t ha’f so funny when ’twas goin’ on. Fust 
I thought I’d roast to death, then I thought I’d 
freeze, and then I thought I’d drown.” 

“ Perez,” said the panting Eri, “ you’re a wonder. 


322 


CAFN ERI 


I’m goin’ to tell Sol Bangs ’bout you next time I see 
him. He’ll want you to enter in the races next Fourth 
of July. We’ve had tub races and the like of that, 
but a carryall sailin’ match ’ll be somethin’ new. I’ll 
back you against the town, though. You can count 
on me.” 

“ Now, look here, Eri Hedge, if you tell a livin’ 
soul ’bout it. I’ll ” 

“ All right, shipmate, all right ; but it’s too good 
to keep. You ought to write a book, one of them 
kind like Josiah used to read. Call it ‘ The Carryall 
Pirate, or The Terror of the Channel,’ hey? Geel 
you’d be famous! But, say, old man,” he added 
more seriously, “ I’ll shake hands with you. I b’lieve 
you’ve got a good woman, one that ’ll make it smooth 
sailin’ for you the rest of your life. I wish you both 
luck.” 

Captain Perez shook hands very gravely. He was 
still a little suspicious of his chum’s propensity to 
tease. It did not tend to make him less uneasy when, 
a little later. Captain Er: opened the parlor door and 
whispered, “ Say, Perez, I’ve jest thought of some- 
thin’. What are you goin’ to say to M’lissy Bus- 
teed? Her heart ’ll be broke.” 

“Aw, git out! ” was the disgusted answer. 

“ Well, I only mentioned it. Folks have had to 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 323 


pay heavy for breach of promise ’fore now. Good- 
night.” 

Perez manfully told of his engagement at the 
breakfast table next morning, although he said 
nothing concerning the rest of his adventures. He 
was rather taken aback to find that no one seemed 
greatly surprised. Everyone congratulated him, of 
course, and it was gratifying to discern the high 
opinion of the future Mrs. Ryder held by Mrs. Snow 
and the rest. Captain Jerry solemnly shook hands 
with him after the meal was over and said, “ Perez, 
you done the right thing. There’s nothin’ like mar- 
ried life, after all.” 

“ Then why don’t you try it yourself? ” was the 
unexpected question. “ Seems to me we’ll have to 
settle that matter of yours pretty soon. I meant to 
speak to Eri ’bout it ’fore this, but Pve had so much 
on my mind. I will to-night when he comes back 
from fishin’.” 

Captain Jerry made no further remarks, but 
walked thoughtfully away. 

So that evening, when they were together in Cap- 
tain Jerry’s room after supper, Perez, true to his 
promise, said : 

“ Eri, it seems to me we’ve got to do somethin’ 
’bout Mrs. Snow. She was hired to be housekeeper 


CAFN ERl 


3*4 

while John was sick. Now he’s dead, and she’ll think 
it’s queer if we don’t settle that marryin’ bus’ness. 
Ain’t that so? ” 

“Humph!” grunted Captain Jerry. “Perez is 
in a mighty sweat to git other folks married jest 
’cause he’s goin’ to be. I don’t see why she can’t 
keep on bein’ housekeeper jest the same as she’s 
always been.” 

“ Well, I do, and so do you, and you know it. We 
agreed to the housekeepin’ bus’ness jest as a sort of 
put off. Now we can’t put off no longer. Mrs. Snow 
come down here ’cause we advertised for a wife, and 
she’s been so everlastin’ good that I feel ’most 
ashamed every time I think of it. No use, you’ve 
got to ask her to marry you. He has, hasn’t he, 
Eri?” 

“ Yes,” answered Captain Eri laconically. 

The sacrifice squirmed. “ I hate to ask,” he said. 
“ Why don’t we wait a spell, and let her say some- 
thin’ fust ? ” 

“ That would be nice, wouldn’t it ? She’s that kind 
of a woman, ain’t she?” sputtered Perez. “No, 
you bet she ain’t I What she’d say would be to give 
her opinion of us and our manners, and walk out of 
the house bagriand baggage, and I wouldn’t blame 
her for doin’ it.” 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY $25 


“ P’raps she wouldn’t have me. She never said 
she would.” 

“Never said she would! Have you ever asked 
her ? She’s had all this time to I’arn to know you in, 
and I cal’late if she was willin’ to think ’bout it ’fore 
she ever see you, she’d be more willin’ now. Ain’t 
that so, Eri ? ” 

And again Captain Eri said shortly, “ Yes.” 

“ I wish you’d mind your own consarns, and give 
me time,” protested Captain Jerry. 

“ Time ! How much time do you want ? Land 
of Goshen ! I should think you’d had time enough. 
Why ” 

“ Oh, let up 1 ” snorted the persecuted. “ Why 
don’t you git married yourself, and bring Pashy over 
to keep house? What we started to git in the fust 
place was jest a wife for one of us that would keep 
things shipshape, and now ” 

The withering look of scorn that Perez bent upon 
him caused him to hesitate and stop. Captain Perez 
haughtily marched to the door. 

“ Eri,” he said, “ I ain’t goin’ to waste my time 
talkin’ to a — a dogfish like him. He ain’t wuth it.” 

“ Hold on, now, Perez I ” pleaded the discom- 
fited sacrifice, alarmed at his comrade’s threatened 
desertion. “ I was only foolin’. Can’t you take a 


326 


CAFN ERl 


joke? I haven’t said I wouldn’t do it. I think a 
heap of Mrs. Snow; it’s only that I ain’t got the 
spunk to ask her, that’s all.” 

“ Humph ! it don’t take much spunk,” replied the 
successful wooer, forgetful of his own past trepida- 
tion. 

“ Well,” Captain Jerry wriggled and twisted, but 
saw no loophole. “ Well, give me a month to git 
up my courage in and ” 

“ A month ! A month’s ridic’lous ; ain’t it, Eri ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Well, three weeks, then.” 

This offer, too, was rejected. Then Captain Jerry 
held out for a fortnight — for ten days. Finally, it 
was settled that within one week from that very night 
he was to offer his heart and hand to the lady from 
Nantucket. He pledged his solemn word to do it. 

“ There ! ” exclaimed the gratified Captain Perez. 
“ That’s a good job done. He won’t never be sorry 
for it, will he, Eri ? ” 

And Captain Erl made his fourth contribution to 
the conversation. 

“ No,” he said. 

Josiah went up to the post-office late in the after- 
noon of the next day. The “ able seaman ” was be- 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 327 


having himself remarkably well. He had become a 
real help to Captain Eri, and the latter said that 
sailing alone would be doubly hard when his foremast 
hand went back to school again, which he was to do 
very shortly, for Josiah meant to accept the Captain’s 
offer, and to try for the Annapolis appointment when 
the time came. 

The boy came back with the mail and an item of 
news. The mail, a paper only, he handed to Mrs. 
Snow, and the news he announced at the supper table 
as follows: 

“ Mr. Hazeltine’s goin’ to leave the cable station,” 
he said. 

“ Coin’ to leave I ” repeated the housekeeper, 
“what for?” 

“ I don’t know, ma’am. All I know is what I 
heard Mr. Wingate say. He said Mr. Hazeltine 
was goin’ to get through over at the station 
pretty soon. He said one of the operators told 
him so.” 

“ Well, for the land’s sake ! Did you know any- 
thing ’bout it, Eri ? ” 

“ Why, yes, a little. I met Hazeltine yesterday, 
and he told me that some folks out West had made 
him a pretty good offer, and he didn’t know whether 
to take it or not. Said the salary was good, and the 


328 


CAFN ERI 


whole thing looked sort of temptin’. He hadn’t 
decided what to do yit. That’s all there is to it.” 

There was little else talked about during the meal. 
Captain Perez, Captain Jerry, and Mrs. Snow 
argued, surmised, and questioned Captain Eri, who 
said little. Elsie said almost nothing, and went to 
her room shortly after the dishes were washed. 

“ Humph ! ” exclaimed Captain Perez, when they 
were alone, “ I guess your match-makin’ scheme’s up 
spout, Jerry.” 

And, for a wonder. Captain Jerry did not con- 
tradict him. 

The weather changed that night, and it grew cold 
rapidly. In the morning the pump was frozen, and 
Captain Jerry and Mrs. Snow spent some time and 
much energy in thawing it out. It was later than 
usual when the former set out for the schoolhouse. 
As he was putting on his cap, Elsie suggested that 
he wait for her, as she had some lessons to prepare, 
and wanted an hour or so to herself at her desk. So 
they walked on together under a cloudy sky. The 
mud in the road was frozen into all sorts of fantastic 
shapes, and the little puddles had turned to ice. 

“ That thaw was a weather-breeder, sure enough,” 
observed Captain Jerry. “ We’ll git a storm out of 
this, ’fore we’re done.” 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 329 


“ It seems to me,” said Elsie, “ that the winter 
has been a very mild one. From what I had heard 
I supposed you must have some dreadful gales here, 
but there has been none so far.” 

“ We’ll git ’em yit. February’s jist the time. Git 
a good no’theaster goin’, and you’ll think the whole 
house is cornin’ down. Nothin’ to what they used 
to have, though, ’cordin’ to tell. Cap’n Jonadab 
Wixon used to swear that his grandfather told him 
’bout a gale that blew the hair all off a dog, and then 
the wind changed of a sudden, and blew it all on 
again.” 

Elsie laughed. “ That must have been a blow,” 
she said. 

“ Yes. Cap’n Jonadab’s somethin’ of a blow 
himself, so he ought to be a good jedge. The outer 
beach is the place that catches it when there’s a gale 
on. Oh, say! that reminds me. I s’pose you was 
glad to hear the news last night? ” 

“What news?” 

“ Why, that ’bout Mr. Hazeltine’s goin’ away. 
You’re glad he’s goin’, of course.” 

Miss Preston did not answer immediately. In- 
stead, she turned and looked wonderingly at her com- 
panion. 

“ Why should I be glad, pray? ” she asked. 


33 ° 


CAFN ERI 


“ Why, I don’t know. I jest took it for granted 
you would be. You didn’t want him to come and 
see you, and if he was gone he couldn’t come, 

SO 

“ Just a minute, please. What makes you think I 
didn’t want Mr. Hazeltine to call? ” 

And now it was the Captain’s turn to stare and 
hesitate. 

“ What makes me think ” he gasped. “ Why 

— you told me so, yourself.” 

“I told you so? I’m certain that I never told you 
anything of the kind.” 

Captain Jerry stood stock-still, and if ever a face 
expressed complete amazement, it was his. 

“ Elsie Preston ! ” he ejaculated, ‘‘ are you losin’ 
your mem’ry or what? Didn’t you pitch into me hot- 
foot for lettin’ him be alone with you ? Didn’t you 
give me ‘ hark from the tomb ’ for gittin’ up and goin’ 
away? Didn’t you say his calls was perfect torture 
to you, and that you had to be decent to him 
jest out of common politeness? Now, didn’t 
you?^’ 

“ Oh, that was it ! No, of course I didn’t say any 
such thing.” 

“ You didn’t! Why, I heard you ! Land of 
love ! my ears smarted for a week afterward. I ain’t 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 331 


had sech a goin’ over sence mother used to git at me 
for goin’ in swimmin’ on Sunday. And now you say 
you didn’t say it.” 

” I didn’t. You misunderstood me. I did object 
to your leaving the room every time he called, and 
making me appear so ridiculous; and I did say that 
his visits might be a torture for all that you knew 
to the contrary, but I certainly didn’t say that th^ 
were." 

“Suferin’! And you ain’t glad he stopped 
cornin’ ? ” 

The air of complete indifference assumed by the 
young lady was a triumph. 

“ Why, of course,” she said, “ Mr. Hazeltine is 
a free agent, and I don’t know of any reason why 
he should be compelled to go where he doesn’t wish 
to go. I enjoyed his society, and I’m sure Captain 
Eri and Mrs. Snow enjoyed it, too; but it is quite 
evident that he did not enjoy ours, so I don’t see that 
there need be any more said on the subject.’,’ 

Captain Jerry was completely crushed. If the gale 
described by the redoubtable grandsire of Jonadab 
Wixon had struck him, he could not have been more 
upset. 

“ My ! my ! my ! ” he murmured. “ And after my 
beggin’ his pardon and all!” 


332 


CAP’N ERI 


“Begging his pardon? For what?” 

“ Why, for leavin’ you two alone. Of course, 
after you pitched into me so I see how foolish I’d 
been actin’, and I — honest, I didn’t sleep scursely a 
bit that night thinkin’ ’bout it. Thinks I, ‘ If Elsie 
feels that way, why, there ain’t no doubt that Mr. 
Hazeltine feels the same.’ There wa’n’t but one 
thing to be done. When a man makes a mistake, 
if he is any kind of a man, he owns up, and does his 
best to straighten things out. ’Twa’n’t easy to do, 
but duty’s duty, and the next time I see Mr. Hazel- 

tine I told him the whole thing, and ” 

“ You did/” 

“ Sartin I did.” 

“ What did you tell him ? ” 

They had stopped on the sidewalk nearly opposite 
the post-office. Each was too much engrossed In the 
conversation to pay any heed to anything else. If the 
few passersby thought it strange that the schoolmis- 
tress should care to loiter out of doors on that cold 
and disagreeable morning, they said nothing about 
it. One young man in particular, who, standing just 
inside the post-office door, was buttoning his over- 
coat and putting on his gloves, looked earnestly at 
the pair, but he, too, said nothing. 

“ Why, I told him,” said Captain Jerry, in reply 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 333 


to the question, “ how you didn’t like to have me go 
out of the room when he was there. Course, I told 
him I didn’t mean to do nothin’ out of the way. 
Then he asked me some more questions, and I an- 
swered ’em best I could, and — well, I guess that’s 
’bout all.” 

“ Did you tell him that I said his visits were a 
torture ? ” 

“ Why ” the Captain shuffled his feet uneasily 

— “ seems to me I said somethin’ ’bout it — not jest 
^hat, you know, but somethin’. Fact is, I was so 
nuddle-headed and upset that I don’t know exactly 
tvhat I did say. Anyhow, he said ’twas all right, so 
there ain’t nothin’ to worry ’bout.” 

“ Captain Jeremiah Burgess ! ” exclaimed Elsie. 
Then she added, “ What must he think of me? ” 

“ OH, I’ll fix that ! ” exclaimed the Captain. “ I’ll 
see him some time to-day, and I’ll tell him you didn’t 
mean it. Why, I declare! Yes, ’tis! There he is, 
now! Hi! Mr. Hazeltine! Come here a min- 
ute.” 

A mischievous imp was certainly directing Cap- 
tain Jerry’s movements. Ralph had, almost for the 
first time since he came to Orham, paid an early 
morning visit to the office in order to send an impor- 
tant letter in the first mail. The slamming of the door 


334 


CAFN ERI 


had attracted the Captain’s attention and, in response 
to the hail, Mr. Hazeltine crossed the road. 

And then Captain Jerry felt his arm clutched with 
a grip that meant business, as Miss Preston whis- 
pered, “ Don’t you dare say one word to him about 
it. Don’t you dare! ” 

If Ralph had been surprised by the request to join 
the couple, he was more surprised by the reception 
he received. Elsie’s face was crimson, and as for the 
Captain, he looked like a man who had suddenly been 
left standing alone in the middle of a pond covered 
with very thin ice. 

The electrician bowed and shook hands gravely. 
As no remark seemed to be forthcoming from those 
who had summoned him, he observed that it was an 
unpleasant morning. This commonplace reminded 
him of one somewhat similar that he had made to a 
supposed Miss “ Gusty ” Black, and he, too, colored. 

“ Did you want to speak with me. Captain ? ” he 
asked, to cover his confusion. 

“ Why — why, I did,” stammered poor Captain 
Jerry, “ but — but I don’t know’s I do now.” Then 
he realized that this was not exactly complimentary, 
and added, “ That is, I don’t know — I don’t know’s 
I — Elsie, what was it I was goin’ to say to Mr. Ha- 
zeltine? ” 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 335 


At another time it is likely that the young lady’s 
quick wit would have helped her out of the difficulty, 
but now she was too much disturbed. 

“ I’m sure I don’t know,” she said coldly. 

“You don’t know! Why, yes you do? ’Twas 
— ’twas ” The Captain was frantically grasp- 

ing at straws. “ Why, we was wonderin’ why you 
didn’t come to see us nowadays.” 

If the Captain had seen the look that Elsie shot 
at him, as he delivered this brilliant observation, he 
might have been more, instead of less, uncomfortable. 
As it was, he felt rather proud of having discovered 
a way out of the difficulty. But Ralph’s embarrass- 
ment increased. He hurriedly said something about 
having been very busy. 

“ Well,” went on the Captain, intent on making 
the explanation as plausible as possible, “ we’ve 
missed you consider’ ble. We was sayin’ we hoped 
you wouldn’t give us up altogether. Ain’t that so, 
Elsie?” 

Miss Preston’s foot tapped the sidewalk sev- 
eral times, but she answered, though not effu- 
sively : 

“ Mr. Hazeltine is always welcome, of course.” 
Then, she added, turning away, “ Really, Captain 
Jerry, I must hurry to school. I have a great deal 


336 


CAP’N ERI 


of work to do before nine o’clock. Good-morning, 
Mr. Hazeltine.” 

The Captain paused long enough to say, “ We’ll 
expect you now, so come,” and then hurried after 
her. He was feeling very well satisfied with him- 
self. 

“ By mighty ! Elsie,” he chuckled, “ I got out of 
that nice, didn’t I ? ” 

He received no answer, even when he repeated the 
remark, and, although he endeavored, as he swept 
out the schoolroom, to engage the teacher in con- 
versation, her replies were as cold as they were short. 
The Captain went home in the last stages of dismal- 
ness. 

That afternoon, when Captain Eri returned from 
the fishing grounds, he found Captain Jerry waiting 
for him at the shanty. The humiliated matchmaker 
sent Josiah up to the grocery store on an errand, and 
then dragged his friend inside and shut the door. 

Captain Eri looked at the woe-begone face with 
some concern. 

“ What ails you, Jerry? ” he demanded. “ Have 
you — have you spoken to Mrs. Snow ’bout that — 
that marriage?” 

“ No, I ain’t, Eri, but I’m in a turrible mess, and 
I don’t know why, neither. Seems to me the more I 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 337 


try to do for other folks the wuss off I am; and, in- 
stead of gittin’ thanks, all I git is blame.” 

“ Why, what’s the matter? ” 

“ Well, now I know you’ll think I’m a fool, and ’ll 
jest pester the life out of me. See here, Eri Hedge ! 
If I tell you what I want to, will you promise not to 
pitch into me, and not to nag and poke fun? If 
you don’t promise I won’t tell one single word, no 
matter what happens.” 

So Captain Eri promised, and then Captain Jerry, 
stammering and hesitating, unburdened his mind of 
the whole affair, telling of his first reproof by Elsie, 
his “ explanation ” to Ralph, and the subsequent 
developments. Long before he finished. Captain Eri 
rose and, walking over to the door, stood looking out 
through the dim pane at the top, while his shoulders 
shook as if there was a smothered earthquake 
inside. 

“ There ! ” exclaimed the injured matrimonial 
agent, in conclusion. “ There’s the whole fool thing, 
and I ’most wish I’d never seen either of ’em. I 
thought I did fust-rate this mornin’ when I was tryin’ 
to think up somethin’ to show why I hailed Hazel- 
tine, but no, Elsie won’t hardly speak to me. I wish 
to goodness you’d tell me what to do.” 

Captain Eri turned away from the door. His eyes 


338 


CAFN ERI 


were watery, and his face was red, but he managed 
to say: 

“ Oh, Jerry, Jerry! Your heart’s big as a bucket, 
but fishin’ ’s more in your line than gittin’ folks mar- 
ried to order is. I’m ’fraid. You stay here, and 
unload them fish in the dory. There ain’t many of 
’em, and Josiah ’ll help when he gits back. I’m goin’ 
out for a few minutes.” 

He went down to the beach, climbed into a dory 
belonging to a neighbor, and Captain Jerry saw 
him row away in the direction of the cable sta- 
tion. 

That evening, after the dishes were washed and 
the table cleared, there came a knock at the door. 
Mrs. Snow opened it. 

“ Why, for goodness sake I Mr. Hazeltine 1 ” she 
exclaimed. “ Come right in. What a stranger you 
are ! ” 

Ralph entered, shook the snow, which had just 
begun to fall, from his hat and coat, took off these 
articles, in response to the hearty invitation of Cap- 
tain Eri, and shook hands with all present. Elsie’s 
face was an interesting study. Captain Jerry looked 
scared. 

After a few minutes’ talk, Captain Eri rose. 

“ Mrs. Snow,” he said, “ come upstairs a little 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 339 


while. I want to talk to you ’bout somethin’. You 
come, too, Jerry.” 

Captain Jerry looked from Elsie to the speaker, 
and then to Elsie again. But Captain Eri’s hand 
was on his arm, and he rose and went. 

Elsie watched this wholesale desertion with amaze- 
ment. Then the door opened again, and Captain 
Eri put in his head. 

“ Elsie,” he said, “ I jest want to tell you that this 
is my doin’s, not Jerry’s. That’s all.” And the 
door shut. 

Elsie faced the caller with astonishment written 
on her face. 

“ Mr. Hazeltine,” she said icily, “ you may know 
what this means, but I don’t.” 

Ralph looked at her and answered solemnly, but 
with a twinkle in his eye : 

“ I’m afraid I can guess. Miss Preston. You see 
Captain Jerry paid Captain Eri a call this afternoon 
and, as a result. Captain Eri called upon me. Then, 
as a result of that, I — well, I came here.” 

The young lady blushed furiously. “ What did 
Captain Eri tell you ? ” she demanded. 

“ Just what Captain Jerry told him.” 

“ And that was? ” 

“ What you told Captain Jerry this morning con- 


340 


CAP’N ERI 


cerning something that you told him before, I be- 
lieve.” 

There was no answer to this. Miss Preston looked 
as if she had a mind to run out of the room, then as 
if she might cry, and finally as if she wanted to laugh. 

“ I humbly apologize,” said the electrician con- 
tritely. 

"You apologize? For what?” 

“ For my stupidity in believing that Captain Jerry 
was to be accepted seriously.” 

“ You were excusable, certainly. And now I must 
apologize; also for taking the Captain too seriously.” 

“ Suppose we pair the apologies as they do the 
votes in the Senate. Then one will offset the other.” 

“ I’m afraid that isn’t fair, for the blunder was all 
on my part.” 

“ Well, if we can’t pair apologies, suppose we pair 
blunders. I don’t accept your statement of guilt, 
mind, but since you are determined to shoulder it, 
we might put it on one side and on the other we’ll 


“What?” 

“ ‘ Gusty ’ Black.” 

And then they both laughed. 

A little later Captain Eri knocked at the door. 
“ Is it safe for a feller to come in? ” he asked. 


THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY 341 


“ Well,” said Elsie severely, ” I don’t know 
whether talebearers should be admitted or not, but if 
they do come they must beg pardon for interfering 
in other people’s affairs.” 

“ Ma’am,” and the Captain made a profound bow, 
“ I hope you’ll be so ‘ kind and condescendin’, and 
stoop so low, and be so bendin’ ’ as to forgive me. 
And, while I’m ’bout it. I’ll apologize for Jerry, 
too.” 

“ No, sir,” said the young lady decidedly. “ Cap- 
tain Jerry must apologize for himself. Captain Jere- 
miah Burgess,” she called up the stairway, “ come 
into court, and answer for your sins.” 

And Captain Jerry tremblingly came. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A ‘^NORTHEASTER'' BLOWS 


I 


had begun to snow early in the even- 
# -r # ing, a light fall at first, but growing 
# heavier every minute, and, as the 
^ flakes fell thicker and faster, the wind 
began to blow, and its force increased 
steadily. Ralph, hearing the gusts as they swooped 
about the corners of the house, and the “ swish ” of 
the snow as it was thrown against the windov/ panes, 
several times rose to go, but Captain Eri in each in- 
stance urged him to stay a little longer. Finally, the 
electrician rebelled. 

“ I should like to stay. Captain,” he said, ” but 
how do you think I am going to get over to the sta- 
tion if this storm grows worse, as it seems to be 
doing? ” 

“ I don’t think,” was the calm reply. “ You’re 
goin’ to stay here.” 

“ Well, I guess not.” 


342 


A NORTHEASTER^' BLOWS 343 


“ I guess yes. S’pose we’re goin’ to let you try to 
row over to the beach a night like this ? It’s darker ’n 
a nigger’s pocket, and blowin’ and snowin’ great guns 
besides. Jest you look out here.” 

He rose, beckoned to Ralph, and then opened the 
outer door. He had to use considerable strength 
to do this, and a gust of wind and a small avalanche 
of snow roared in, and sent the lighter articles flying 
from the table. Elsie gave a little scream, and Mrs. 
Snow exclaimed, “ For the land’s sake, shut that 
door this minute ! Everything ’ll be soppin’ wet.” 

The Captain pulled the door shut again, and 
dropped the hook into the staple. 

“Nice night for a pull, ain’t it?” he observed, 
smiling. “ No, sir. I’ve heard it cornin’ on, and I 
made up my mind you’d have to stay on dry land 
for a spell, no matter if all creation wanted you on 
t’other side.” 

Ralph looked troubled. “ I ought to be at the 
station,” he said. 

“ Maybe so, but you ain’t, and you’ll have to put 
up at this boardin’ house till mornin’. When it’s 
daylight one of us ’ll set you across. Mr. Langley 
ain’t foolish. He won’t expect you to-night.” 

“ Now, Mr. Hazeltine,” said the housekeeper^ 
“ you might jest as well give it up fust as last. You 


344 


CAFN ERI 


know you can’t go over to that station jest as well as 
I do.” 

So Ralph did give it up, although rather against 
his will. There was nothing of importance to be 
done, but he felt a little like a deserter, neverthe- 
less. 

“ Perez won’t git home neither,” observed Captain 
Eri. “ He’s snowed in, too.” 

Captain Perez had that afternoon gone down to 
the Mayo homestead to take tea with Miss Davis. 

“ Git home ! I should think not ! ” said Mrs. 
Snow decidedly. “ Pashy’s got too much sense to 
let him try it.” 

“ Well, Elsie,” commented Captain Jerry, “ I told 
you we’d have a no’theaster ’fore the winter was over. 
I guess there’ll be gale enough to satisfy you, now. 
No school to-morrer.” 

“ Well, that’s settled ! Let’s be comf ’table. Ain’t 
there some of that cider down cellar? Where’s the 
pitcher? ” And Captain Eri hurried off to find it. 

When bedtime came there was some argument as 
to where the guest should sleep. Ralph insisted that 
the haircloth sofa in the parlor was just the thing, 
but Captain Eri wouldn’t hear of it. 

“ Haircloth’s all right to look at,” he said, “ but 
it’s the slipperiest stuff that ever was, I cal’late. Every 


A ^‘NO’THEASTER" BLOWS 


345 


time I set on a haircloth chair I feel’s if I was drag- 
gin’ anchor.” 

The cot was declared ineligible, also, and the ques- 
tion was finally settled by Josiah and Captain Erl 
going upstairs to the room once occupied by John 
Baxter, while Ralph took that which they vacated. 

It was some time before he fell asleep. The gale 
seemed to be tearing loose the eternal foundations. 
The house shook and the bed trembled as if a great 
hand was moving them, and the snow slapped against 
the windows till It seemed that they must break. 

In the morning there was little change in the 
weather. The snow had turned to a sleet, half rainj 
that stuck to everything and coated it with ice. The 
wind was blowing as hard as ever. Captain Eri and 
Ralph, standing just outside the kitchen door, and in 
the lee of the barn, paused to watch the storm for a 
minute before they went down to the beach. At in- 
tervals they caught glimpses of the snow-covered 
roofs of the fish shanties, and the water of the inner 
bay, black and threatening and scarred with white- 
caps; then another gust would come, and they could 
scarcely see the posts at the yard gate. 

“ Think you want to go over, do you ? ” asked the 
Captain. 

“ I certainly do, if I can get there,” 


346 


CAFN ERl 


“ Oh, we can git there all right. I’ve rowed a 
dory a good many times when ’twas as bad as this. 
This ain’t no picnic day, though, that’s a fact,” he 
added, as they crossed the yard, and caught the full 
force of the wind. “ Lucky you put on them ile- 
skins.” 

Ralph was arrayed in Captain Jerry’s “ dirty- 
weather rig,” and although, as Captain Eri said, the 
garments fitted him “ like a shirt on a handspike,” 
they were very acceptable. 

They found the dory covered with snow and half- 
full of slush, and it took some few minutes to get her 
into condition. When this was accomplished they 
hauled her down to the shore, and Captain Eri, stand- 
ing knee-deep in water, steadied her while Ralph 
climbed in. Then the Captain tumbled in himself, 
picked up the oars, and settled down for the pull to 
the outer beach. 

A dory, as everyone acquainted alongshore knows, 
is the safest of all small craft for use in heavy 
weather. It is unsinkable for one thing, and, being 
flat-bottomed, slips over the waves instead of plow- 
ing through them. But the high freeboard is a mark 
for the wind, and to keep a straight course on such a 
morning as this requires skill, and no small amount 
of muscle. Ralph, seated in the stern, found himself 


A ''NORTHEASTER" BLOWS 


347 


wondering how on earth his companion managed to 
row as he did, and steer at the same time. The 
strokes were short, but there was power in them, and 
the dory, although moving rather slowly, went dog- 
gedly on. 

“ Let me take her,” shouted Ralph after a while, 
“ you must be tired.” 

“Who, me?” Captain Eri laughed. “I could 
keep this up for a week. There ain’t any sea in 
here. If we was outside now, ’twould be diff’rent, 
maybe.” 

They hit the beach almost exactly at the right spot, 
a feat which the passenger considered a miracle, but 
which the Captain seemed to take as a matter of 
course. They beached and anchored the dory, and, 
bending almost double as they faced the wind, plowed 
through the sand to the back door of the station. 
There was comparatively little snow here on the 
outer beach — the gale had swept it nearly all 
away. 

Mr. Langley met them as they tramped into the 
hall. The old gentleman was glad to see his assist- 
ant, for he had begun to fear that the latter might 
have tried to row over during the evening, and met 
with disaster. As they sat round the stove in his 
room he said, “ We don’t need any wrecks inside the 


348 


CAP’N ERI 


beach. We shall have enough outside, I’m afraid. 
I hear there is one schooner in trouble now.” 

“That so?” asked Captain Eri. “Where is 
she?” 

“ On the Hog’s Back shoal, they think. One of 
the life-saving crew told McLaughlin that they saw 
her last night, when the gale first began, trying to 
make an offing, and that wreckage was coming ashore 
this morning. Captain Davis was going to try to 
reach her with the boat, I believe.” 

“ I should like to be at the life-saving station when 
they land,” said Ralph. “ It would be a new experi- 
ence for me. I’ve seen the crew drill often enough, 
but I have never seen them actually at work.” 

“ What d’you say if we go down to the station? ” 
asked the Captain. “ That is, if Mr. Langley here 
can spare you.” 

“ Oh, I can spare him,” said the superintendent. 
“ There is nothing of importance to be done here just 
now. But it will be a terrible walk down the beach 
this morning.” 

“ Wind ’ll be at our backs, and we’re rigged for it, 
too. What d’you say, Mr. Hazeltine ? ” 

Ralph was only too glad of the opportunity to see, 
at least, the finish of a rescuing expedition, • and he 
said so. So they got into the oilskins again, pulled 


A '' NO’THEASTER" BLOWS 349 


their “ sou’westers ” down over their ears, and 
started on the tramp to the life-saving station. 

The electrician is not likely to forget that walk. 
The wind was, as the Captain said, at their backs, 
but it whistled in from the sea with terrific strength, 
and carried the sleet with it. It deluged them with 
water, and plastered them with flying seaweed and 
ice. The wet sand came in showers like hail, and beat 
against their shoulders until they felt the sting, even 
through their clothes. Toward the bay was nothing 
but gray mist, streaked with rain and sleet; toward 
the sea was the same mist, flying with the wind over 
such a huddle of tossing green and white as Ralph 
had never seen. The surf poured in in rollers that 
leaped over each other’s humped backs in their savage 
energy to get at the shore, which trembled as they 
beat upon it. The ripples from one wave had not 
time to flow back before those of the next came thresh- 
ing in. Great blobs of foam shot down the strand 
like wild birds, and the gurgle and splash and roar 
were terrific. 

They walked as near the water line as they dared, 
because the sand was harder there. Captain Eri 
went ahead, hands in his pockets and head down. 
Ralph followed, sometimes watching his companion, 
but oftener gazing at the sea. At intervals there 


350 


CAFN ERI 


would be a lull, as if the storm giant had paused for 
breath, and they could see for half a mile over the 
crazy water; then the next gust would pull the curtain 
down again, and a whirl of rain and sleet would shut 
them in. Conversation meant only a series of shrieks 
and they gave it up. 

At length the Captain turned, grinned pleasantly, 
while the rain drops splashed on his nose, and waved 
one arm. Ralph looked and saw ahead of them the 
clustered buildings of the life-saving station. And 
he was glad to see them. 

“ Whew ! ” puffed Captain Eri as they opened the 
door. “ Nice mornin’ for ducks. Hey, Luther ! ” he 
shouted, “ wake up here ; you’ve got callers.” 

They heard footsteps in the next room, the door 
opened, and in came — not Luther Davis, but Cap- 
tain Perez. 

“ Why, Eri ! ” he exclaimed amazedly. 

“ For the land’s sake, Perez ! What are you 
doin’ here? ” 

“ What are you doin’ here, I should say. How 
d’you do, Mr. Hazeltine?” 

Captain Eri pushed back his “ sou’wester,” 
and strolled over to the stove. Ralph followed 
suit. 

“ Well, Perez,” said the former, extending his 


A “ NO’ THE AS TER ” BLOWS 35 1 


hands over the fire, “ it’s easy enough to tell you why 
we’re here. We heard there was a wreck.” 

“ There is. She’s a schooner, and she’s off there 
on the Hog’s Back. Luther and the crew put off to 
her more ’n two hours ago, and I’m gittin’ wor- 
ried.” 

Then Perez went on to explain that, because of 
the storm, he had been persuaded to stay at Mrs. 
Mayo’s all night; that Captain Davis had been over 
for a moment that evening on an errand, and had 
said that the schooner had been sighted and that, as 
the northeaster was coming on, she was almost cer- 
tain to get into trouble; that he, Perez, had rowed 
over the first thing in the morning to get the news, 
and had been just in time to see the launching of 
the lifeboat, as the crew put off to the schooner. 

“ There ain’t nothin’ to worry ’bout,” observed 
Captain Eri. “ It’s no slouch of a pull off to the 
Hog’s Back this weather, and besides, I’d trust Lute 
Davis anywhere on salt water.” 

“ Yes, I know,” replied the unconvinced Captain 
Perez, “ but he ought to have been back afore this. 
There was a kind of let-up in the storm jest afore I 
got here, and they see her fast on the shoal with the 
crew in the riggin’. Luther took the small boat 
’cause he thought he could handle her better, and 


352 


CAFN ERI 


that’s what’s worryin’ me; I’m ’fraid she’s over- 
loaded. I was jest thinkin’ of goin’ out on the p’int 
to see if I could see anything of ’em when you folks 
come.” 

“ Well, go ahead. We’ll go with you, if Mr. 
Hazeltine’s got any of the chill out of him.” 

Ralph was feeling warm by this time and, after 
Perez had put on his coat and hat, they went out 
once more into the gale. The point of which Perez 
had spoken was a wedge-shaped sand ridge that, 
thrown up by the waves and tide, thrust itself out 
from the beach some few hundred yards below the 
station. They reached its tip, and stood there in the 
very midst of the storm, waiting for the lulls, now 
more frequent, and scanning the tumbling water for 
the returning lifeboat. 

“ Schooner’s layin’ right over there,” shouted Cap- 
tain Perez in Ralph’s ear, pointing off into the mist. 
“ ’Bout a mile off shore, I cal’late. Wicked place, the 
Hog’s Back is, too.” 

“ Wind’s lettin’ up a little mite,” bellowed Captain 
Eri. “ We’ve had the wust of it, I guess. There 
ain’t so much ” 

He did not finish the sentence. The curtain of 
sleet parted, leaving a quarter-mile-long lane, through 
which they could see the frothing ridges racing one 


A NO’THEASTER" BLOWS 


353 


after the other, endlessly. And across this lane, 
silent and swift, like a moving picture on a scr.;en, 
drifted a white turtleback with black dots clinging 
to it. It was in sight not more than a half minute, 
then the lane closed again, as the rain lashed their 
faces. 

Captain Perez gasped, and clutched the electrician 
by the arm. 

“ Godfrey mighty ! ” he exclaimed. 

“ What was it ? ” shouted Ralph. “ What was it, 
Captain Eri? ” 

But Captain Eri did not answer. He had turned, 
and was running at full speed back to the beach. 
When they came up they found him straining at the 
side of the dory that Luther Davis used in tending 
his lobster pots. The boat, turned bottom up, lay 
high above tide mark in the little cove behind the 
point. 

“ Quick, now ! ” shouted the Captain, in a tone 
Ralph had never heard him use before. “ Over with 
her ! Lively ! ” 

They obeyed him without question. As the dory 
settled right side up two heavy oars, that had been se- 
cured by being thrust under the seats, fell back with a 
clatter. 

“What was it. Captain?” shouted Ralph. 


354 


CAFN ERI 


. “ The lifeboat upset. How many did you make 
out bangin’ onto her, Perez ? Five, seemed to 
me. 

“ Four, I thought. Eri, you ain’t goin’ to try to 
reach her with this dory ? You couldn’t do it. You’ll 
only be drownded yourself. My Lord ! ” he moaned, 
wringing his hands, “ what ’ll Pashy do? ” 

“ Catch a-holt now,” commanded Captain Eri. 
“ Down to the shore with her I Now!” 

They dragged the dory to the water’s edge with 
one rush. Then Eri hurriedly thrust in the thole- 
pins. Perez protested again. 

“ Eri,” be said, “ it ain’t no use. She won’t live to 
git through the breakers.” 

His friend answered without looking up. “ Do 
you s’pose,” he said, “ that I’m goin’ to let Lute 
Davis and them other fellers drown without makin’ a 
try for ’em ? Push off when I tell you to.” 

“ Then you let me go instead of you.” 

“ Don’t talk foolish. You’ve got Pashy to look 
after. Ready now ! ” 

But Ralph Hazeltine intervened. 

“ I’m going myself,” he said firmly, putting one 
foot over the gunwale. “ I’m a younger man than 
either of you, and I’m used to a boat. I mean it. 
I’m going.” 


A ‘^NO’THEASTER" BLOWS 355 


Captain Eri looked at the electrician’s face; he 
saw nothing but determination there. 

“ We’ll all go,” he said suddenly. “ Mr. Hazeltine, 
run as fast as the Lord ’ll let you back to the station 
and git another set of oars. Hurry!” 

Without answering, the young man sprang up the 
beach and ran toward the buildings. The moment 
that he was inside Captain Eri leaped into the dory. 

“ Push off, Perez 1 ” he commanded. “ That young 
feller’s got a life to live.” 

“ You don’t go without me,” asserted Perez 
stoutly. 

“ All right ! Push off, and then jump in.” 

Captain Perez attempted to obey. He waded into 
the water and gave the dory a push, but, just as he 
was about to scramble in, he received a shove that 
sent him backwards. 

“Your job’s takin’ care of Pashy! ” roared Cap- 
tain Eri. 

Perez scrambled to his feet, but the dory was 
already half-way across the little patch of compara- 
tively smooth water in the cove. As he looked he 
saw it enter the first line of breakers, rise amid a 
shower of foam, poise on the crest, and slip over. 
The second line of roaring waves came surging on, 
higher and more threatening than the first. Cap- 


356 


CAP’N ERI 


tain Erl glanced over his shoulder, turned the dory’s 
bow toward them and waited. They broke, and, as 
they did so, the boat shot forward into the whirlpool 
of froth. Then the sleet came pouring down and 
shut everything from sight. 

When Ralph came hurrying to the beach, bearing 
the oars, he found Captain Perez alone. 


CHAPTER XX 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 


^###^APTAIN ERI knew that the hardest 
and most dangerous portion of his 
# I # perilous trip was just at its beginning. 
^ ^ If the dory got through the surf with- 

^###^ . . . u * .u * 

^ out capsizing, it was an even bet that 

she would stay right-side-up for a while longer, at 
any rate. So he pulled out of the little cove, and 
pointed the boat’s bow toward the thundering smother 
of white, his shoulders squared, his hands tightened 
on the oar handles, and his under-jaw pushed out be- 
yond the upper. Old foremast hands, those who had 
sailed with the Captain on his coasting voyages, 
would, had they seen these signs, have prophesied 
trouble for someone. They were Captain Eri’s 
battle-flags, and just now his opponent was the gray 
Atlantic. If the latter won, it would only be after 
a fight. 

The first wave tripped over the bar and whirled 


358 


CAFN ERI 


beneath him, sending the dory high into the air and 
splashing its occupant with spray. The Captain held 
the boat stationary, waiting for the second to break, 
and then, half rising, put all his weight and strength 
on the oars. The struggle had begun. 

They used to say on board the Hannah M. that the 
skipper never got rattled. The same cool head and 
steady nerve that Josiah had admired when the cat- 
boat threaded the breakers at the entrance of the bay, 
now served the same purpose in this more tangled 
and infinitely more wicked maze. The dory climbed 
and ducked, rolled and slid, but gained, inch by inch, 
foot by foot. The advancing waves struck savage 
blows at the bow, the wind did its best to swing her 
broadside on, but there was one hundred and eighty 
pounds of clear grit and muscle tugging at the oars, 
and, though the muscles were not as young as they 
had been, there were years of experience to make 
every pound count. At last the preliminary round 
was over. The boat sprang clear of the breakers 
and crept out farther and farther, with six inches of 
water slopping in her bottom, but afloat and sea- 
worthy. 

It was not until she was far into deep water that 
the Captain turned her bow down the shore. When 
this was done, it was on the instant, and, although a 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 359 


little more water came inboard, there was not enough 
to be dangerous. Then, with the gale astern and the 
tide to help. Captain Eri made the dory go as she, or 
any other on that coast, had never gone before. 

The Captain knew that the wind and the tide that 
were now aiding him were also sweeping the over- 
turned lifeboat along at a rapid rate. He must come 
up with it before it reached the next shoal. He must 
reach it before the waves, and, worse than all, the 
cold had caused the poor fellows clinging to it for 
life to loose their grip. 

The dory jumped from crest to crest like a hurdler. 
The sleet now beat directly into the Captain’s face 
and froze on his eyebrows and lashes, but he dared 
not draw in an oar to free a hand. The wind caught 
up the spindrift and poured it over him in icy baths, 
but he was too warm from the furious exercise to 
mind. 

In the lulls he turned his head and gazed over the 
sea, looking for the boat. Once he saw it, before the 
storm shut down again, and he groaned aloud to 
count but two black dots on its white surface. He 
pulled harder than ever, and grunted with every 
stroke, while the perspiration poured down his fore- 
head and froze when it reached the ice dams over his 
eyes. 


360 


CAFN ERl 


At last it was in plain sight, and the two dots, now 
clearly human beings, were still there. He pointed 
the bow straight at it and rowed on. When he looked 
again there was but one, a figure sprawled along the 
keel, clinging to the centerboard. 

The flying dory bore down upon the lifeboat, and 
the Captain risked what little breath he had in a hail. 
The clinging figure raised Its head, and Captain Eri 
felt an almost selfish sense of relief to see that it was 
Luther Davis. If it had to be but one, he would 
rather it was that one. 

The bottom of the lifeboat rose like a dome from 
the sea that beat and roared over and around it. The 
centerboard had floated up and projected at the top, 
and it was about this that Captain Davis’ arms were 
clasped. Captain Eri shot the dory alongside, pulled 
in one oar, and the two boats fitted closely together. 
Then Eri reached out, and, seizing his friend by the 
belt round his waist, pulled him from his hold. Davis 
fell Into the bottom of the dory, only half conscious 
and entirely helpless. 

Captain Eri lifted him so that his head and 
shoulders rested on a thwart, and then, setting his 
oar against the lifeboat’s side, pushed the dory clear. 
Then he began rowing again. 

So far he had been more successful than he had rea- 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 361 


son to expect, but the task that he must now ac- 
complish was not less difficult. He must reach the 
shore safely, and with another life beside his own to 
guard. 

It was out of the question to attempt to get back to 
the cove ; the landing must be made on the open beach, 
and, although Captain Eri had more than once 
brought a dory safely through a high surf, he had 
never attempted it when his boat had nearly a foot 
of water in her and carried a helpless passenger. 

Little by little, still running before the wind, the 
Captain edged in toward the shore. Luther Davis 
moved once or twice, but said nothing. His oilskins 
were frozen stiff and his beard was a lump of ice. 
Captain Eri began to fear that he might die from 
cold and exhaustion before the attempt at landing 
was made. The Captain resolved to wait no longer, 
but to take the risk of running directly for the 
beach. 

He was near enough now to see the leaping spray 
of the breakers, and their bellow sounded louder than 
the howl of the wind or the noises of the sea about 
him. He bent forward and shouted in the ear of 
the prostrate li fe-saver. 

“ Luther! ” he yelled, “ Lute! ” 

Captain Davis’ head rolled back, his eyes opened. 


362 


CAFN ERI 


and, in a dazed way, he looked at the figure swinging 
back and forth with the oars. 

“ Lute !” shouted Captain Eri, “listen to me! 
I’m goin’ to try to land. D’you hear me? ” 

Davis’ thoughts seemed to be gathering slowly. 
He was, ordinarily, a man of strong physique, cour- 
ageous, and a fighter every Inch of him, but his 
strength had been beaten out by the waves and chilled 
by the cold, and the sight of the men with whom he 
had lived and worked for years drowning one by one, 
had broken his nerve. He looked at his friend, and 
then at the waves. 

“ What’s the use? ” he said feebly. “ They’re all 
gone. I might as well go, too.” 

Captain Eri’s eyes snapped. “ Lute Davis,” he 
exclaimed, “ I never thought I’d see you playin’ cry- 
baby. Brace up ! What are you, anyway? ” 

The half-frozen man made a plucky effort. 

“ All right, Eri,” he said. “ I’m with you, but I 
ain’t much good.” 

“ Can you stand up? ” 

“ I don’t know. I’ll try.” 

Little by little he raised himself to his knees. 

“ ’Bout as fur’s I can go, Eri,” he said, between his 
teeth. “You look out for yourself. I’ll do my 
dumdest.” 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 363 


The dory was caught by the first of the great 
waves, and, on its crest, went flying toward the beach. 
Captain Eri steered it with the oars as well as he 
could. The wave broke, and the half-filled boat 
paused, was caught up by the succeeding breaker, and 
thrown forward again. The Captain, still trying 
to steer with one oar, let go of the other, and seizing 
his companion by the belt, pulled him to his feet. 

“ Now then,” he shouted, “ stand by! ” 

The boat poised on the curling wave, went down 
like a hammer, struck the sand, and was buried in 
water. Just as it struck. Captain Eri jumped as far 
shoreward as he could. Davis sprang with him, but 
it was really the Captain’s strength that carried them 
clear of the rail. 

They kept their feet for an instant, but, in that 
instant. Captain Eri dragged his friend a yard or so 
up the shelving beach. Then they were knocked flat 
by the next wave. The Captain dug his toes into the 
sand and braced himself as the undertow sucked back. 
Once more he rose and they staggered on again, only 
to go down when the next rush of water came. Three 
times this performance was repeated, and, as they 
rose for the fourth time, the Captain roared. 
“Now!” 

Another plunge, a splashing run, and they were on 


3^4 


CAFN ERI 


the hal'd sand of the beach. Then they both tumbled 
on their faces and breathed in great gasps. 

But the Captain realized that this would not do, 
for, in their soaked condition, freezing to death was a 
matter of but a short time. He seized Davis by the 
shoulder and shook him again and again. 

“ Come on. Lute ! Come on ! ” he insisted. “ Git 
up ! You’ve got to git up ! ” 

And, after a while, the life-saver did get up, al- 
though he could scarcely stand. Then, with the Cap- 
tain’s arm around his waist, they started slowly up the 
beach toward the station. 

They had gone but a little way when they were met 
by Ralph Hazeltine and Captain Perez. 

Mrs. Snow had been, for her, rather nervous all 
that forenoon. She performed her household duties 
as thoroughly as usual, but Elsie, to whom the storm 
had brought a holiday, noticed that she looked out of 
the window and at the clock frequently. Once she 
even went so far as to tell the young lady that she 
felt “ kind of queer; jest as if somethin’ was goin’ to 
happen.” As the housekeeper was not the kind to be 
troubled with presentiments, Elsie was surprised. 

Dinner was on the table at twelve o’clock, but Cap- 
tain Eri was not there to help eat it, and they sat 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 365 


down without him. And here again Mrs. Snow de- 
parted from her regular habit, for she ate little and 
was very quiet. She was the first to hear an un- 
usual sound outside, and, jumping up, ran to the 
window. 

“ Somebody’s drivin’ into the yard,” she said. 
“ Who on airth would be cornin’ here such a day as 
this?” 

Captain Jerry joined her at the window. 

“ It’s Abner Mayo’s horse,” he said. “ Maybe it’s 
Perez cornin’ home.” 

It was not Captain Perez, but Mr. Mayo himself, 
as they saw when the rubber blanket fastened across 
the front of the buggy was dropped and the driver 
sprang out. Mrs. Snow opened the door for him. 

“ Hello, Abner! ” exclaimed Captain Jerry, as the 
newcomer stopped to knock the snow from his boots 
before coming in, “ what have you done to Perez ? 
Goin’ to keep him for a steady boarder? ” 

But "Mr. Mayo had important news to communi- 
cate, and he did not intend to lose the effect of his 
sensation by springing it without due preparation. 
He took off his hat and mittens and solemnly declined 
a proffered chair. 

“ Cap’n Burgess,” he said, “ I’ve got somethin’ to 
tell you — somethin’ awful. The whole life-savin’ 


366 


CAP’N ERl 


crew but one is drownded, and Cap’n Eri 
Hedge ” 

An exclamation from Mrs. Snow interrupted him. 
The housekeeper clasped her hands together tightly 
and sank into a chair. She was very white. Elsie 
ran to her. 

“ What is it, Mrs. Snow ? ” she asked. 

Nothin’, nothin’ ! Go on, Mr. Mayo. Go on ! ” 

The bearer of ill-tidings, gratified at the result of 
his first attempt, proceeded deliberately : 

“ And Cap’n Hedge and Luther Davis are over at 
the station pretty nigh dead. If It wa’n’t for the 
Cap’n, Luther’d have gone, too. Eri took a dory and 
went off and picked him up. Perez come over to my 
house and told us about it, and Pashy’s gone back 
with him to see to her brother. I didn’t go down 
to the store this mornin’, ’twas stormin’ so, but as 
soon as I heard I harnessed up to come and tell 
you.” 

Then, in answer to the hurried questions of Cap- 
tain Jerry and Elsie, Mr. Mayo told the whole story 
as far as he knew It. Mrs. Snow said nothing, but 
sat with her hands still clasped in her lap. 

“ Luther is ha’f drownded and froze,” concluded 
Abner, “ and the Cap’n got a bang with an oar when 
they jumped out of the dory that, Perez is afraid, 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 367 


broke his arm. Fm goin’ right back to git Dr. 
Palmer. They tried to telephone him, but the wire’s 
down.” 

“ Dear ! dear 1 dear ! ” exclaimed Captain Jerry, 
completely demoralized by the news. “ That’s dread- 
full I must go right down there, mustn’t I? The 
poor fellers! ” 

Mrs. Snow rose to her feet quietly, but with a de- 
termined air. 

“ Are you goin’ right back soon’s you’ve got the 
Doctor, Mr. Mayo ? ” she asked. 

“ Why, no, I wa’n’t. I ain’t been to my store this 
mornin’, and Fm ’fraid I ought to be there.” 

To be frank, Abner was too great a sensation lover 
to forfeit the opportunity of springing his startling 
news on the community. 

“ Then, Josiah, you’ll have to harness Dan’l and 
take me down. I mustn’t wait another minute.” 

“ Why, Mrs. Snow 1 ” expostulated Captain Jerry, 
“ you mustn’t go down there. The Doctor’s goin’, 
and Fll go, and Pashy’s there already.” 

But the housekeeper merely waved him aside. 

“ I want you to stay here with Elsie,” she said. 
“ There’s no tellin’ how long I may be gone. 
Josiah ’ll drive me down, won’t you, Josiah ? ” 

There was no lack of enthusiasm in the “ able sea* 


368 


CAFN ERI 


man’s ” answer. The boy was only too glad of the 
chance. 

“ But it ain’t fit weather for you to be out in. You’ll 
git soakin’ wet.” 

“ I guess if Pashy Davis can stand it, I can. Elsie, 
will you come and help me git ready, while Josiah’s 
harnessin’ ? ” 

As they entered the chamber above, Elsie was thun- 
derstruck to see her companion seat herself in the 
rocker and cover her face with her hands. If it had 
been anyone else it would not have been so aston- 
ishing, but the cool, self-possessed housekeeper — she 
could scarcely believe it. 

“Why, Mrs. Snow!” she exclaimed, “what is 
it?” 

The lady from Nantucket hastily rose and wiped 
her eyes with her apron. 

“ Oh, nothin’,” she answered, with an attempt at 
a smile. “ I’m kind of fidgety this mornin’, and the 
way that man started off to tell his yarn upset me; 
that’s all. I mustn’t be such a fool.” 

She set about getting ready with a vim and atten- 
tion to detail that proved that her “ fidgets ” had not 
affected her common-sense. She was pale and her 
hands trembled a little, but she took a covered basket 
and packed in it cloth for bandages, a hot-water 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 369 


bottle, mustard, a bottle of liniment, and numerous 
other things likely to be of use. Last of all, she 
added a bottle of whisky that had been prescribed as 
a stimulant for John Baxter. 

“ I s’pose some folks would think ’twas terrible 
carryin’ this with me,” she observed. “ A woman 
pitched into me once for givin’ it to her husband when 
he was sick. I told her I didn’t favor rhubarb as a 
steady drink, but I hoped I knew enough to give it 
when ’twas necessary.” 

Ralph and Captain Perez were surprised men 
when the housekeeper, dripping, but cheerful, ap- 
peared on the scene. She and Josiah had had a 
stormy passage on the way down, for the easy-going 
Daniel had objected to being asked to trot through 
drifts, and Mrs. Snow had insisted that he should 
be made to do it. The ford was out of the question, 
so they stalled the old horse in the Mayo barn and 
borrowed Abner’s dory to make the crossing. 

Mrs. Snow took charge at once of the tired men, 
and the overtaxed Miss Patience was glad enough to 
have her do it. Luther Davis was in bed, and Cap- 
tain Eri, after an hour’s sojourn in the same snug 
harbor, had utterly refused to stay there longer, and 
now, dressed in a suit belonging to the commandant, 
was stretched upon a sofa in the front room. 


370 


CAP’N ERI 


The Captain was the most surprised of all when 
Mrs. Snow appeared. He fairly gasped when she 
first entered the room, and seemed to be struck speech- 
less, for he said scarcely a word while she dosed him 
with hot drinks, rubbed his shoulder — the bone was 
not broken, but there was a bruise there as big as a 
saucer — ^with the liniment, and made him generally 
comfortable. He watched her every movement with 
a sort of worshipful wonder, and seemed to be think- 
ing hard. 

Captain Davis, although feeling a little better, was 
still very weak, and his sister and Captain Perez were 
with him. Josiah soon returned to the Mayo home- 
stead to act as ferryman for Dr. Palmer when 
the latter should arrive, and Ralph, finding that there 
was nothing more that he could do, went back to the 
cable station. The storm had abated somewhat and 
the wind had gone down. Captain Eri and Mrs. 
Snow were alone in the front room, and, for the first 
time since she entered the house, the lady from Nan- 
tucket sat down to rest. Then the Captain spoke. 

“ Mrs. Snow,” he said gravely, “ I don’t believe 
you’ve changed your clothes sence you got here. You 
must have been soaked through, too. I wish you 
wouldn’t take such risks. You hadn’t ought to have 
come over here a day like this, anyway. Not but 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 371 


what the Lord knows it’s good to have you here,” he 
added hastily. 

The housekeeper seemed surprised. 

“ Cap’n Eri,” she said, “ I b’lieve if you was dyin’ 
you’d worry for fear somebody else wouldn’t be 
comf’table while you was doing it. ’Twould be pretty 
hard for me to change my clothes,” she added, with a 
laugh, “ seein’ that there probably ain’t anything but 
men’s clothes in the place.” Then, with a sigh, 
“ Poor fellers, they won’t need ’em any more.” 

“ That’s so. And they were all alive and hearty; 
this mornin’. It’s an awful thing for Luther. Has 
he told anything yit ’bout how it come to happen ? ” 

“ Yes, a little. The schooner was from Maine, 
bound to New York. Besides her own crew she had 
some Italians aboard, coal-handlers, they was, goin’ 
over on a job for the owner. Cap’n Davis says he saw 
right away that the lifeboat would be overloaded, 
but he had to take ’em all, there wa’n’t time for a 
second trip. He made the schooner’s crew and the 
others lay down in the boat where they wouldn’t 
hinder the men at the oars, but when they got jest at 
the tail of the shoal, where the sea was heaviest, them 
Italians lost their heads and commenced to stand up 
and yell, and fust thing you know, she swung broad- 
side on and capsized. Pashy says Luther don’t say 


CAFN ERI 


37 ^ 

much more, but she jedges, from what he does say, 
that some of the men hung on with him for a while, 
but was washed off and drownded.” 

“ That’s right; there was four or five there when 
we saw her fust. ’Twas Lute’s grip on the center- 
board that saved him. It’s an awful thing — aw- 
ful!” 

“ Yes, and he would have gone, too, if it hadn’t 
been for you. And you talk about my takin’ risks I ” 
“ Well, Jerry hadn’t ought to have let you come.” 
“ Let me come 1 I should like to have seen him 
try to stop me. The idea ! Where would I be if 
’twa’n’t helpin’ you, after all you’ve done for me ? ” 
“ I’ve done? I haven’t done anything 1 ” 

“ You’ve made me happier ’n I’ve been for years. 

You’ve been so kind that — that ” 

She stopped and looked out of the window. 

“ It’s you that’s been kind,” said the Captain. 
“ You’ve made a home for me; somethin’ I ain’t had 
afore sence I was a boy.” 

Mrs. Snow went on as if he had not spoken. 

“ And to think that you might have been drownded 
the same as the rest,” she said. “ I knew somethin’ 
was happenin’. I jest felt it, somehow. I told Elsie 
I was sure of it. I couldn’t think of anything but you 
all the forenoon.” 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 373 


The Captain sat up on the couch, 

“ Marthy,” he said in an awed tone, “ do you 
know what I was thinkin’ of when I was pullin’ 
through the wust of it this mornin’ ? I was thinkin’ 
of you. I thought of Luther and the rest of them 
poor souls, of course, but I thought of you most of 
the time. It kept cornin’ back to me that if I went 
under I shouldn’t see you ag’In. And you was 
thinkin’ of me ! ” 

“ Yes, when that Mayo man said he had awful 
news, I felt sure ’twas you he was goin’ to tell about, 
I never fainted away in my life that I know of, but I 
think I ’most fainted then.” 

“ And you cared as much as that ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Somehow both were speaking quietly, but as if it 
was useless longer to keep back anything. To speak 
the exact truth without reserve seemed the most 
natural thing in the world. 

“ Well, well, well! ” said the Captain reverently, 
and still in the same low tone. “ I said once afore that 
I b’lleved you was sent here, and now I’m sure of it. 
It seems almost as if you was sent to me, don’t it? ” 
The housekeeper still looked out of the window, 
but she answered simply, “ I don’t know.” 

“ It does, it does so. Marthy, we’ve been happy 


374 


CAFN ERI 


together while you’ve been here. Do you b’lieve you 
could be happy with me always — ^if you married me, I 
mean ? ” 

Mrs. Snow turned and looked at him. There were 
tears in her eyes, but she did not wipe them away. 

“ Yes,” she said. 

“ Think now, Marthy. I ain’t very young, and I 
ain’t very rich.” 

“ What am I? ” with a little smile. 

“ And you really think you could be happy if you 
was the wife of an old codger like me? ” 

“ Yes.” The answer was short, but it was con- 
vincing. 

Captain Eri rose to his feet. 

“ Gosh ! ” he said in a sort of unbelieving whisper. 
“ Marthy, are you willin’ to try ? ” 

And again Mrs. Snow said “ Yes.” 

When Dr. Palmer came he found Luther Davis 
still in bed, but Captain Eri was up and dressed, and 
there was such a quiet air of happiness about him that 
the man of medicine was amazed. 

“ Good Lord, man ! ” he exclaimed, “ I expected 
to find you flat on your back, and you look better than 
I’ve seen you for years. Taking a salt-water bath in 
mid-winter must agree with you,” 


ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND 375 


“ It ain’t so much that,” replied the Captain 
serenely. “ It’s the pay I got for takin’ it.” 

When the Doctor saw Perez alone, he asked the 
latter to keep a close watch on Captain Eri’s be- 
havior. He said he was afraid that the exertion and 
exposure might have affected the Captain’s brain. 

Perez, alarmed by this caution, did watch his 
friend very closely, but he saw nothing to frighten 
him until, as they were about to start for home. Cap- 
tain Eri suddenly struck his thigh a resounding slap. 

“ Jerry! ” be groaned distressfully. “ I clean for- 
got. I’ve gone back on Jerry ! ” 


CHAPTER XXI 


‘ DIME-SHOW BUS’ NESS ” 


^###^LSIE and Captain Jerry were kept 
1 — \ ^ busy that afternoon. Abner Mayo’s 
# H # news spread quickly, and people gath- 
post-office, the stores, and 
^###^ the billiard room to discuss it. Some 
of the men, notably “ Cy ” Warner and “ Rufe ” 
Smith, local representatives of the big Boston dailies, 
hurried off to the life-saving station to get the facts at 
first hand. Others came down to talk with Captain 
Jerry and Elsie. Melissa Busteed’s shawl was on her 
shoulders and her “ cloud ” was tied about her head 
in less than two minutes after her next-door neighbor 
shouted the story across the back yards. She had just 
left the house, and Captain Jerry was delivering a sar- 
castic speech concerning “ talkin’ machines,” when 
Daniel plodded through the gate, drawing the 
buggy containing Josiah, Mrs. Snow, and Captain 
Eri. 


DIME-SHOW BUS’ NESS ” 


377 


For a man who had been described as “ half-dead,” 
Captain Eri looked very well, indeed. Jerry ran to 
help him from the carriage, but he jumped out him- 
self and then assisted the housekeeper to alight with 
an air of proud proprietorship. He was welcomed 
to the house like a returned prodigal, and Captain 
Jerry shook his well hand until the arm belonging to it 
seemed likely to become as stiff and sore as the other. 
While this handshaking was going on Captain Eri 
was embarrassed. He did not look his friend in the 
face, and most of his conversation was addressed to 
Elsie. 

As soon as he had warmed his hands and told the 
story of the wreck and rescue, he said, “ Jerry, come 
up to my room a minute, won’t you ? I’ve got some- 
thin’ I want to say.” 

Vaguely wondering what the private conversation 
might be, Jerry followed his friend upstairs. When 
they were in the room. Captain Eri closed the door 
and faced his companion. He was confused, and 
stammered a little, as he said, “ Jerry, I’ve — I’ve got 
somethin’ to say to you ’bout Mrs. Snow.” 

Then it was Captain Jerry’s turn to be confused. 

“ Now, Eri,” he protested, “ ’tain’t fair to keep 
pesterin’ me like this. I know I ain’t said nothin’ to 
her yit, but I’m goin’ to. I had a week, anyhow, and 


378 


CAFN ERI 


it ain’t ha’f over. Land sake!” he burst forth, 
“ d’you s’pose I ain’t been thinkin’ ’bout it? I ain’t 
thought of nothin’ else, hardly. I bet you I’ve been 
over the whole thing every night sence we had that 
talk. I go over it and go over it. I’ve thought of 
more ’n a million ways to ask her, but there ain’t one 
of ’em that suits me. If I was go in’ to be hung 
’twouldn’t be no worse, and now you’ve got to keep 
a-naggin’. Let me alone till my time is up, can’t 
you?” 

“ I wa’n’t naggin’. I was jest goin’ to tell you that 
you won’t have to ask. I’ve been talkin’ to her my- 
self, and ” 

The sacrifice sprang out of his chair. 

“ Eri Hedge ! ” he exclaimed indignantly. “ I 
thought you was a friend of mine! I give you my 
word I’d do it in a week, and the least you could 
have done, seems to me, would have been to wait and 
give me the chance. But no! all you think ’bout’s 
yourself. So ’fraid she’d say no and you’d lose your 
old housekeeper, wa’n’t you ? The idea ! She must 
think I’m a good one^ — can’t do my own courtin’, 
and have to git somebody to do it for me ! What did 
she say? ” he asked suddenly. 

“ She said yes to what I asked her,” was the reply 
with a half smile. 


“ DIME-SHOW BUSINESS ” 


379 


Upon Captain Jerry’s face settled the look of one 
who accepts the melancholy inevitable. He sat down 
again. 

“ I s’posed she would,” he said with a sigh. 
“ She’s known me for quite a spell now, and 
she’s had a chance to see what kind of a man I be. 
Well, what else did you do? Ain’t settled the 
weddin’ day, have you ? ” This with marked 
sarcasm. 

“ Not yit. Jerry, you’ve made a mistake. I didn’t 
ask her for you.” 

“ Didn’t ask her — didn’t What are you 

talkin’ ’bout, then?” 

“ I asked her for myself. She’s goin’ to marry 
me. 

Captain Jerry was too much astonished even to 
get up. Instead, he simply sat still with open mouth 
while his friend continued. 

“ I’ve come to think a lot of Mrs. Snow sence she’s 
been here,” Captain Eri said slowly, “ and I’ve found 
out that she’s felt the same way ’bout me. I’ve kept 
still and said nothin’ ’cause I thought you ought to 
have the fust chance and, besides, I didn’t know how 
she felt. But to-day, while we was talkin’, it all come 
out of itself, seems so, and — well, we’re goin’ to be 
married.” 


380 


CAFN ERI 


The sacrifice — a sacrifice no longer — still sat silent, 
but curious changes of expression were passing over 
his face. Surprise, amazement, relief, and now a 
sort of grieved resignation. 

“ I feel small enough ’bout the way I’ve treated 
you, Jerry,” continued Captain Eri. “ I didn’t mean 
to — but there! it’s done, and all I can do is say 
I’m sorry and that I meant to give you your chance. 
I shan’t blame you if you git mad, not a bit; but I 
hope you won’t.” 

Captain Jerry sighed. When he spoke it was in a 
tone of sublime forgiveness. 

“ Eri,” he said, “ I ain’t mad. I won’t say my 
feelin’s ain’t hurt, ’cause — ’cause — well, never mind. 
If a wife and a home ain’t for me, why I ought to 
be glad that you’re goin’ to have ’em. I wish you 
both luck and a good v’yage. Now, don’t talk to 
me for a few minutes. Let me git sort of used 
to it.” 

So they shook hands and Captain Eri, with a 
troubled look at his friend, went out. After he had 
gone. Captain Jerry got up and danced three 
steps of an improvised jig, his face one broad grin. 
Then, with an effort, he sobered down, assumed 
an air of due solemnity, and tramped down* 
stairs. 


DIM E-SHOJV BUSINESS'' 38* 

If the announcement of Captain Perez’ engage- 
ment caused no surprise, that of Captain Eri’s cer- 
tainly did — surprise and congratulation on the part 
of those let into the secret, for it was decided to say 
nothing to outsiders as yet. Ralph came over that 
evening and they told him about it, and he was as 
pleased as the rest. As for the Captain, he was only 
too willing to shake hands with any and everybody, 
although he insisted that the housekeeper had nothing 
to be congratulated upon, and that she was “ takin’ 
big chances.” The lady herself merely smiled at 
this, and quietly said that she was willing to take 
them. 

The storm had wrecked every wire and stalled 
every train, and Orham was isolated for two days. 
Then communication was established once more, and 
the Boston dailies received the news of the loss of 
the life-savers and the crew of the schooner. And 
they made the most of it; sensational items were 
scarce just then, and the editors welcomed this one. 
The big black headlines spread halfway across the 
front pages. There were pictures of the wreck, 
“ drawn by our artist from description,” and there 
were “ descriptions ” of all kinds. Special reporters 
arrived in the village and interviewed everyone 
they could lay hands on. Abner Mayo felt that 


382 


CAFN ERl 


for once he was receiving the attention he de- 
served. 

The life-saving station and the house by the shore 
were besiejed by photographers and newspaper men. 
Captain Eri indignantly refused to pose for his photo- 
graph, so he was “ snapped ” as he went out to the 
barn, and had the pleasure of seeing a likeness of 
himself, somewhat out of focus, and with one leg 
stiffly elevated, in the Sunday Blanket. The reporters 
waylaid him at the post-office, or at his fish shanty, 
and begged for interviews. They got them, brief 
and pointedly personal, and, though these were not 
printed, columns describing him as “ a bluff, big- 
hearted hero,” were. 

If ever a man was mad and disgusted, that man 
was the Captain. In the first place, as he said, what 
he had done was nothing more than any other man 
’longshore would have done, and, secondly, it was 
nobody’s business. Then again, he said, and with 
truth: 

“ This whole fuss makes me sick. Here’s them 
fellers in the crew been goin’ out, season after season, 
takin’ folks off wrecks, and the fool papers never 
say nothin’ ’bout it; but they go out this time, and 
don’t save nobody and git drownded themselves, and 
they’re heroes of a sudden. I hear they’re raisin’ 


DIME-SHOJV BUSINESS ” 


383 


money up to Boston to give to the widders and 
orphans. Well, that’s all right, but they’d better keep 
on and git the Gov’ment to raise the sal’ries of 
them that’s left in the service.” 

The climax came when a flashily dressed stranger 
called, and insisted upon seeing the Captain alone. 
The interview lasted just about three minutes. When 
Mrs. Snow, alarmed by the commotion, rushed into 
the room, she found Captain Eri in the act of throw- 
ing after the fleeing stranger the shiny silk hat that 
the latter had left behind. 

“Do you know what that — ^that swab wanted?” 
hotly demanded the indignant Captain. “ He wanted 
me to rig up in ileskins and a sou’wester and show 
myself in dime museums. Said he’d buy that dory 
of Luther’s that I went out in, and show that ’long 
with me. I told him that dory was spread up and 
down the beach from here to Setuckit, but he said 
that didn’t make no diff’rence, he’d have a dory 
there and say ’twas the reel one. Offered me a 
hundred dollars a week, the skate! I’d give ten 
dollars right now to tell him the rest of what I had 
to say.” 

After this the Captain went fishing every day, and 
when at home refused to see anybody not known per- 
sonally. But the agitation went on, for the papers 


384 


CAFN ERl 


fed the flames, and in Boston they were raising a purse 
to buy gold watches and medals for him and for 
Captain Davis. 

Shortly after four o’clock one afternoon of the 
week following that of the wreck, Captain Eri ven- 
tured to walk up to the village, keeping a weather 
eye out for reporters and" smoking his pipe. He made 
several stops, one of them being at the schoolhouse 
where Josiah, now back at his desk, was studying 
overtime to catch up with his class. 

As the Captain was strolling along, someone 
touched him from behind, and he turned to face 
Ralph Hazeltine. The electrician had been a pretty 
regular caller at the house of late, but Captain Eri 
had seen but little of him, for reasons unnecessary 
to state. 

“ Hello, Captain ! ” said Ralph. “ Taking a con- 
stitutional? You want to look out for Warner; 
I hear he’s after you for another rescue ‘ spe- 
cial.’ ” 

“ He’ll need somebody to rescue him if he comes 
pesterin’ ’round me,” was the reply. “ You ain’t 
seen my dime show friend nowheres, have you? I’d 
sort of like to meet him again; our other talk broke 
off kind of sudden.” 

Ralph laughed, and said he was afraid that the 


DIME-SHOW BUS’NESS" 


38s 


museum manager wouldn’t come to Orham again 
very soon. 

“ I s’pose likely not,” chuckled Captain Eri. “ I 
ought to have kept his hat; then, maybe, he’d have 
come back after it. Oh, say ! ” he added, “ I’ve been 
meanin’ to ask you somethin’. Made up your mind 
’bout that Western job yit? ” 

Ralph shook his head. “ Not yet,” he said slowly. 
“ I shall very soon, though, I think.” 

“ Kind of puzzlin’ you, is it? Not that it’s really 
any of my affairs, you understand. There’s only a 
few of uSkgood folks left, as the feller said, and I’d 
hate to see you leave, that’s all.” 

“ I am not anxious to go, myself. My present 
position gives me a good deal of leisure time for ex- 
perimental work — and — well. I’ll tell you in confi- 
dence — there’s a possibility of my becoming super- 
intendent one of these days, if I wish to.” 

“Shol you don’t say! Mr. Langley goin’ to 
quit?” 

“ He is thinking of it. The old gentleman has 
saved some money, and he has a sister in the West 
who is anxious to have him come out there and spend 
the remainder of his days with her. If he does, I 
can have his position, I guess. In fact, he has been 
good enough to say so.” 


386 


CAFN ERl 


“Well, that’s pretty fine, ain’t it? Langley ain’t 
the man to chuck his good opinions round like clam 
shells. You ought to feel proud.” 

“ I suppose I ought.” 

They walked on silently for a few steps, the Cap- 
tain waiting for his companion to speak, and the latter 
seeming disinclined to do so. At length the older 
man asked another question. 

“ Is t’other job so much better? ” 

“ No.” 

Silence again. Then Ralph said, “ The other posi- 
tion, Captain, is very much like this one in some 
respects. It will place me in a country town, even 
smaller than Orham, where there are few young 
people, no amusements, and no society, in the fashion- 
able sense of the word.” 

“ Humph ! I thought you didn’t care much for 
them things.” 

“ I don’t.” 

To this enigmatical answer the Captain made no 
immediate reply. After a moment, however, he said, 
slowly and with apparent irrelevance, “ Mr. Hazel- 
tine, I can remember my father tellin’ ’bout a feller 
that lived down on the South Harniss shore when he 
was a boy. Queer old chap he was, named Elihu 
Bassett; everybody called him Uncll Elihu. In them 


DIME-SHOW BUS’ NESS" 


387 


days all hands drunk more or less rum, and Uncle 
Elihu drunk more. He had a way of stayin’ sober 
for a spell, and then startin’ off on a regular jamboree 
all by himself. He had an old flat-bottomed boat 
that he used to sail ’round in, but she broke her 
moorin’s one time and got smashed up, so he wanted 
to buy another. Shadrach Wingate, Seth’s granddad 
’twas, tried to fix up a dicker with him for a boat he 
had. They agreed on the price, and everything was 
all right ’cept that Uncle Elihu stuck out that he must 
try her ’fore he bought her. 

“ So Shad fin’lly give in, and Uncle Elihu sailed 
over to Wellmouth in the boat. He put in his time 
’round the tavern there, and when he come down to 
the boat ag’in, he had a jugful of Medford in his 
hand, and pretty nigh as much of the same stuff 
under his hatches. He got afloat somehow, h’isted 
the sail, lashed the tiller after a fashion, took a nip 
out of the jug and tumbled over and went fast asleep. 
’Twas a still night or ’twould have been the finish. 
As ’twas he run aground on a flat and stuck there 
till mornin’. 

“Next day back he comes with the boat all scraped 
up, and says he, ‘ She won’t do. Shad ; she don’t keep 
her course.’ 

“ ‘ Don’t keep her course, you old fool ! ’ bellerj 


388 


CAFN ERI 


Shad. ‘ And you tight as a drumhead and sound 
asleep I Think she can find her way home herself? ’ 
he says. 

“ ‘ Well,’ says Uncle Elihu, ‘ if she can’t she ain’t 
the boat for me.’ ” 

Ralph laughed. “ I see,” he said. “ Perhaps 
Uncle Elihu was wise. Still, if he wanted the boat 
very much, he must have hated to put her to the 
test.” 

“ That’s so,” assented the Captain, “ but ’twas 
better to know it then than to be sorry for it after- 
wards.” 

Both seemed to be thinking, and neither spoke 
again until they came to the grocery store, where 
Hazeltine stopped, saying that he must do an errand 
for Mr. Langley. They said good-night, and the 
Captain turned away, but came quickly back and 
said: 

“ Mr. Hazeltine, if it ain’t too much trouble, 
would you mind steppin’ up to the schoolhouse when 
you’ve done your errand? I’ve left somethin’ there 
with Josiah, and I’d like to have you git it. Will 
you ? ” 

“ Certainly,” was the reply, and it was not until 
the Captain had gone that Ralph remembered he did 
not know what he was to get. 


^‘DIME-SHOPF BUSINESS" 


389 


When he reached the school he climbed the stairs 
and opened the door, expecting to find Josiah alone. 
Instead, there was no one there but Elsie, who was 
sitting at the desk. She sprang up as he entered. 
Both were somewhat confused. 

“ Pardon me. Miss Preston,” he said. “ Captain 
Eri sent me here. He said he left something with 
Josiah, and wished me to call for it.” 

“ Why, I’m sure I don’t know what it can be,” 
replied Elsie. “ Josiah has been gone for some time, 
and he said nothing to me about it.” 

“ Perhaps it is in his desk,” suggested Ralph. 
“ Suppose we look.” 

So they looked, but found nothing more than the 
usual assortment contained in the desk of a healthy 
schoolboy. The raised lid shut off the light from 
the window, and the desk’s interior was rather dark. 
They had to grope in the comers, and occasionally 
their hands touched. Every time this happened 
Ralph thought of the decision that he must make so 
soon. 

He thought of it still more when, after the search 
was abandoned, Elsie suggested that he help her with 
some problems that she was preparing for the next 
day’s labors of the first class in arithmetic. In fact, 
as he sat beside her, pretending to figure, but really 


390 


CAFN ERI 


watching her dainty profile as it moved back and 
forth before his eyes, his own particular problem 
received far more attention than did those of the 
class. Suddenly he spoke: 

“ Teacher,” he said, “ please, may I ask a ques- 
tion?” 

“ You should hold up your hand if you wish per- 
mission to speak,” was the stern reply. 

“ Please consider it held up.” 

“ Is the question as important as ‘ How many 
bushels did C. sell ? ’ which happens to be my par- 
ticular trouble just now.” 

“ It is to me, certainly.” Ralph was serious 
enough now. “ It is a question that I have been 
wrestling with for some time. It is, shall I take the 
position that has been offered me in the West, or 
shall I stay here and become superintendent of the 
station? The superintendent’s place may be mine, 
I think, if I want it.” 

Elsie laid down her pencil and hesitated for a mo- 
ment before she spoke. When she did reply her face 
was turned away from her companion. 

“ I should think that question might best be de- 
cided by comparing the salaries and prospects of the 
two positions,” she said quietly. 

“The two positions are much alike in one way* 



DO YOU THINK YOU COULD CONSIDER THE QUESTION?” 








“ DIME-SHOW BUSINESS ” 


39 * 


You know what the life at the station means the 
greater portion of the year — ^no companions of your 
own age and condition, no society, no amusements. 
The Western offer means all this and worse, for the 
situation is the same all the year. I say these things 
because I hope you may be willing to consider 
them, not from my point of view solely, but from 
yours.” 

“ From mine? ” 

“ Yes. You see I am recklessly daring to hope 
that, whichever lot is chosen, you may be willing to 
share it with me — as my wife. Elsie, do you think 
you could consider the question from that view- 
point? ” 

And — well — Elsie thought she could. 

The consideration — ^we suppose it was the consid- 
eration — took so long that it was nearly dark when 
Elsie announced that she simply must go. It was 
Ralph’s duty as a gentleman to help her in putting 
on her coat, and this took an astonishingly long time. 
Finally it was done, however, and they came down- 
stairs. 

“ Dearest,” said Ralph, after the door was locked, 
“ I forgot to have another hunt for whatever it was 
that Captain Eri wanted me to get.” 

Elsie smiled rather oddly. 


392 


CAFN ERI 


“Are you sure you haven’t got it?” she asked 
demurely. 

“ Got it 1 Why — why, by George, what a numb- 
skull I am ! The old rascal I I thought there was a 
twinkle in his eye.” 

“ He said he sho'uld come back after me.” 

“ Well, well ! Bless his heart, it’s sound and sweet 
all the way through. Yes, I han}e got it, and, what*s 
more, I shall tell him that I mean to keep it.” 

The gold watches from the people to the heroes 
of the Orham wreck having been duly bought and 
inscribed and the medals struck, there came up the 
question of presentation, and it was decided to per- 
form the ceremony in the Orham town hall, and to 
make the occasion notable. The Congressman from 
the district agreed to make the necessary speech. 
The Harniss Cornet Band was to furnish music. All 
preparations were made, and it remained only to 
secure the consent of the parties most interested, 
namely. Captain Eri and Luther Davis. 

And this was the hardest task of all. Both men 
at first flatly refused to be present. The Captain 
said he might as well go to the dime museum and be 
done with it ; he was much obliged to the Boston folks, 
but his own watch was keeping good time, and he 


DIME-SHOW BUSINESS ” 


393 


didn’t need a new one badly enough to make a show 
of himself to get it. Captain Davis said very much 
the same. 

But Miss Patience was proud of her brother’s rise 
to fame, and didn’t intend to let him forfeit the 
crowning glory. She enlisted Captain Perez as a 
supporter, and together they finally got Luther’s 
unwilling consent to sit on the platform and be stared 
at for one evening. Meanwhile, Captain Jerry, 
Elsie, Ralph, and Mrs. Snow were doing their best 
to win Captain Eri over. When Luther surrendered, 
the forces joined, and the Captain threw up his 
hands. 

“ All right,” he said. “ Only I ought to beg that 
dime museum feller’s pardon. ’Tain’t right to be 
partial this way.” 

The hall was jammed to the doors. Captain Eri, 
seated on the platform at one end of the half-circle 
of selectmen, local politicians, and minor celebrities, 
looked from the Congressman in the middle to 
Luther on the other end, and then out over the 
crowded settees. He saw Mrs. Snow’s pleasant, 
wholesome face beaming proudly beside Captain 
Jerry’s red one. He saw Captain Perez and Miss 
Patience sitting together close to the front, and Ralph 


394 


CAFN ERI 


and Elsie a little further back. The Reverend Mr. 
Perley was there ; so were the Smalls and Miss Abi- 
gail Mullett. Melissa Busteed was on the very front 
bench with the boys, of whom Josiah was one. The 
“ train committee ” was there — not a member miss- 
ing — and at the rear of the hall, smiling and unc- 
tuous as ever, was “ Web ” Saunders. In spite of 
his stage fright the Captain grinned when he saw 
“ Web.” 

Mr. Solomon Bangs, his shirt-bosom crackling 
with importance, introduced the Congressman. The 
latter’s address was, so the Item said, “ a triumph of 
oratorical effort.” It really was a good speech, and 
when it touched upon the simple sacrifice of the men 
who had given up their lives in the course of what, 
to them, was everyday work, there were stifled sobs 
all through the hall. Luther Davis, during this por- 
tion of the address, sat with his big hand shading his 
eyes. Later on, when the speaker was sounding the 
praises of the man who “ alone, forgetful of himself, 
braved the sea and the storm to save his friends,” 
those who looked at Captain Eri saw his chair hitched 
back, inch by inch, until, as the final outburst came, 
little more than his Sunday shoes was in sight. He 
had retired, chair and all, to the wings. 

But they called him to the platform again and, 


" DIME-SHOW BUS’ NESS ” 


395 


amid — we quote from the Item once more — “ a hur- 
ricane of applause,” the two heroes were adorned 
with the watches and the medals. 

There was a sort of impromptu reception after 
the ceremony, when Captain Eri, with Mrs. Snow on 
his arm, struggled through the crowd toward the 
door. 

“ ’Twas great, shipmate, and you deserved it ! ” 
declared magnanimous Captain Jerry, wringing his 
hand. 

“ ’Tain’t ha’f what you ought to have, Eri,” said 
Captain Perez. 

“ I haven’t said much to thank you for savin’ 
Luther,” whispered Miss Patience, “ but I hope you 
know that we both appreciate what you done and 
never ’ll forgit it.” 

Ralph and Elsie also shook hands with him, and 
said some pleasant things. So did many others, 
Dr. Palmer among the number. Altogether, the 
journey through the hall was a sort of triumphal 
progress. 

“ Whew ! ” gasped the Captain, as they came out 
into the clear air and the moonlight, “ let’s hope 
that’s the last of the dime-show bus’ness.” 

“ Eri,” whispered Mrs. Snow, “ I’m so proud of 
you, I don’t know what to do.’ 


396 


CAFN ERI 


And that remark was sweeter to the Captain’s ears 
than all those that had preceded it. 

They turned into the shore road and were alone. 
It was a clear winter night, fresh, white snow on the 
ground, not a breath of wind, and the full moon 
painting land and sea dark blue and silver white. 
The surf sounded faint and far off. Somewhere in 
the distance a dog was barking, and through the still- 
ness came an occasional laugh or shout from the 
people going home from the hall. 

“ Lots of things can happen in a few months, can’t 
they? ” said Mrs. Snow, glancing at the black shadow 
of the shuttered Baxter homestead. 

“ They can so,” replied the Captain. “ Think 
what’s happened sence last September. I didn’t 
know you then, and now it seems ’s if . I’d always 
known you. John was alive then, and Elsie nor 
Ralph hadn’t come. Perez hadn’t met Pashy neither. 
My ! my ! Everybody’s choosed partners but Jerry,” 
he chuckled, “ and Jerry looked the most likely can- 
didate ’long at the beginnin’. I’m glad,” he added, 
“ that Ralph’s made up his mind to stay here. We 
shan’t lose him nor Elsie for a few years, anyhow.” 

They paused at the knoll by the gate. 

“ Fair day to-morrer,” observed the Captain, 
looking up at the sky. 


'^DIME-SHOW BUSINESS'' 


397 


“ I hope it ’ll be fair weather for us the rest of 
our days,” said Mrs. Snow. 

“ You’ve had it rough enough, that’s sure. Well, 
I hope you’ll have a smooth v’yage, now.” 

The lady from Nantucket looked up into his face 
with a happy laugh. 

** I guess I shall,” she said. “ I know I’ve got 
a good pilot.” 


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